The trains continued to finish at Epping or Loughton until 1949. At this time the London Passenger Transport Board's New Works project extended the Central line to Epping using electric trains. The Central Line would take over the railway from British Rail. As part of this change, the Epping-Ongar branch line had its through trains to London removed. Instead, a shuttle service between Epping (to connect with trains to London) and Ongar was used. At one stage, it was possible to see the unusual sight of steam trains and London Underground electric multiple units side-by-side at Epping. The steam shuttle was hired by the London Transport Executive from British Rail. This was because it was felt that the cost of electrifying the line to Ongar could not be justified because of the low passenger numbers on this part of the branch.