A single car Greater Anglia unit

RAIL operator Greater Anglia has promised to keep its services between Cambridge and Ipswich under review after passengers claimed that trains were seriously overcrowded.

Lesley Bird travels regularly between Thurston and Ipswich on the train which arrives just after 8am and is made up of a single car unit.

She said that since schools and colleges returned last month, it was impossible for passengers to find space once the train had left Elmswell.

That meant many passengers were unable to buy tickets from the guard who could not get through the train – and they had to queue up to buy tickets once the train reached Ipswich.

Ms Bird said: “Today the train was nearly full by the time it got to Thurston. I got a seat but others had to stand. By the time it got to Needham the aisle was already full and the people were asked to budge up otherwise some of the passengers waiting on the platform would not be able to get on.”

A spokesman for Greater Anglia said only the first and last trains of the day were made up of single-car units which ran for operational reasons.

He said: “Most services between Cambridge and Ipswich are operated by two-carriage Turbostar trains. We will closely monitor the numbers of passengers using the 06.41 Cambridge to Ipswich service and keep this matter under review.”