Passengers fuming over train delays

MASSIVE delays left train travellers fuming again today as commuters at Ipswich rail station were told to go home when engineering works overran - again.

Services to and from London Liverpool Street from Ipswich were severely disrupted by Network Rail's engineering works at Shenfield in Essex.

National Express told customers not to travel unless absolutely necessary and admitted there was not enough room on the platform for the amount of passengers trying to cram on.

Commuters were left trying to get buses laid on by the company as most trains were terminating at Ipswich or Colchester.

It was a case of déjà vu for commuters who had a similar nightmare when they tried to return to work after the Christmas break on January 2.

On that day thousands of passengers were left stranded and told not to travel after engineering works overran.

Today National Express apologised and said: “It's a Network Rail engineering issue.”

Angry commuter Shirley Hurst, 59, of Christchurch Street, Ipswich, said: “It is ridiculous. They keep putting the rail fares up but the services don't seem to get any better.

“I had heard there were problems today so I came down early as I'm going to Chelmsford to visit my mum.

“I've told her I don't know when I'll get there because when I get to Chelmsford, I have to get a bus to her place and it's going to take ages.”

Jill Casswell, a spokesman for National Express, said: “There are major delays. We advise customers to people to travel unless absolutely necessary.

“We would never turn people away from Ipswich station but we have not got the room to put them all on the platform. We are sorry.”

n. Were you affected by today's delays? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk

Al Ashford, 33, from Ipswich, said: “I'm in a show in London and am having to travel back and forth every day. I'm going to have to phone up to say I can't come today. I go to London a lot to see my children too and I don't know why there are so many problems on the trains. I was supposed to be in London for 10.30am so there is no way I'll make that.”

Len Yates, 49, of Turn Lane, Woodbridge, said: “I got on the train at Woodbridge and there was nothing to say there were delays at Ipswich. I got here and just found out that I probably won't be able to get to London today. It is bad enough when there are problems with the trains but when they don't even warn you before, it's terrible.

“I wrote a complaint about the trains four weeks ago and I still haven't got a reply.”

Paul Lister, 43, from Diss, said: “I was meant to go to London but they are saying people should go home. They say we can get to Colchester but the thing is, people won't be able to get to London from there. They are saying the earliest they will fix this is lunchtime. I have decided to go home.

“I came from Diss and there was nothing to say there were any problems.”

Tony Butler, 34, from Saxmundham, said: “I did not know anything about this until I got here this morning. It would have been nice if they told us. I was going to go to London but now it looks like I'll go home. It's like an extended bank holiday. The next train to Saxmundham is 50 minutes though so I'll have to wait for that now.”