ONE day the trains are so crowded a passenger has to sit in the driver's cab . . . the next there are no trains at all!The situation on the Felixstowe to Ipswich line went from one extreme to the other just a day after travellers complained that there were not enough carriages on the services on the 12-mile route.

ONE day the trains are so crowded a passenger has to sit in the driver's cab . . . the next there are no trains at all!

The situation on the Felixstowe to Ipswich line went from one extreme to the other just a day after travellers complained that there were not enough carriages on the services on the 12-mile route.

Yesterday the one and only train broke down – leaving no services from Felixstowe for three hours and frustrated passengers forced to hop on special buses.

Passengers were left fearing that they might miss vital connections to other destinations at Ipswich as Anglia Railways got to grips with the problem.

One passenger fumed: "It is ridiculous – and so frustrating.

I need to meet a connection to Colchester because I have an appointment which I cannot afford to miss and now I just don't know what is going to happen."

Another said: "At least we know there will be no trains, but I haven't decided yet whether to wait and see if the bus they are sending arrives or not. I might as well get one of the ordinary buses to Ipswich."

Elsewhere yesterday, commuters trying to get from London to East Anglia faced severe delays after a freight train and passenger train broke down between Liverpool and Colchester.

Passengers caught up in the chaos were delayed for up to three hours when direct services were scrapped between London and East Anglia.

Problems arose when the 10.40am Felixstowe to Ipswich train broke down at Trimley. A bus was sent to take the passengers off the train and transport them to Ipswich.

But this then meant that there was no 11.10am or 12.10pm services from Ipswich to Felixstowe and buses were used instead.

Anglia Railways spokesman Peter Meades said services resumed with the 1.10pm from Ipswich.

"We got a spare train down from Norwich as quickly as we could to cover the services while the breakdown was repaired," he said.

"Under normal circumstances, if there had been a failure, we would have had a spare train at Ipswich, but because of the Lowestoft air show the spare was already working on the Lowestoft line.

"Unfortunately, these things happen like that sometimes but at least the train from Norwich arrived fairly quickly and not too many services were missed."

Last night's Evening Star reported how trains on the line had become too crowded with people having to sit on each other's laps, stand in the aisles and during one journey a passenger with a buggy had to sit in the driver's cab.

Only one carriage is usually provided on the service between Felixstowe and Ipswich, whether during peak or off-peak times.

As the summer holidays have arrived, the trains have become packed with more tourists and children going out for the day.

Anglia Railways said it normally provided more carriages if it could predict demand for a service would be high, but a 75-seater single carriage was normally adequate for the number of passengers travelling to and from Felixstowe.

The company is though assessing the long-term future of the service and whether extra carriages will be needed.

WEBLINK: www.angliarailways.co.uk