AN ESSEX commuters' group has raised fears about train chaos after it was announced London Liverpool Street station is to close again.

The busy mainline rail station - where engineering work overran at the new year - is to be shut again for more work over the last part of the early-May Bank Holiday weekend.

Liverpool Street will be shut on Sunday, May 4, and Monday, May 5, for "vital engineering work", Transport for London said.

The closure is necessary so a team of engineers can roll an 800-tonne bridge into place as part of the work to link the new London overground network to an extended east London line.

Transport for London said Liverpool Street would reopen in time for the start of services on Tuesday, May 6.

However, Derek Monnery, chairman of Essex Rail Users' Federation, said he was worried the engineering would be delayed again.

He said: "Every time engineering work has occurred over a bank holiday this year, it has overrun.

"I would like this time to be different, but experience tells me it probably won't."

Mr Monnery explained the bridge planned for near Bethnal Green was "massive" and had the potential for several complications.

He said it was a much trickier piece of engineering than some of the other works carried out, including those at Shenfield which caused disruption over Easter.

During the May closure, trains which normally use Liverpool Street will run from Stratford and Tottenham Hale stations. Liverpool Street underground station will remain open and unaffected.

Network Rail is using the closure to carry out works between Stratford and Liverpool Street, including overhead line renewal and signalling maintenance.