Rush-hour travellers were today hit by two lots of chaos - on the roads and rails.

Motorists were stuck in jams as four months of roadworks got under way on Pitsea flyover.

Traffic was gridlocked at Sadlers Farm roundabout, Benfleet, with cars barely crawling along Canvey Way as the build-up to essential £4million work on the flyover began.

By 9am problems hit Hadleigh and traffic tailed back along the A127 to Southend as motorists tried to get off the A13.

On the rail network, commuters were delayed when c2c cancelled 22 trains following a blaze on the Shoebury to Fenchurch Street line between Upminster and West Horndon.

While c2c said the situation was not under its total control, Southend Rail Travellers' Association demanded to know why services were not switched to the Tilbury line.

Commuter Michael Winters, 32, of Southend, who travels on the c2c line, said: "There were lots of trains cancelled this morning and it was very disruptive. I eventually got to work an hour late."

The fire damaged a feeder station, leaving only two other feeder stations between Shoebury and London to provide electricity to trains.

Because there is less power available Network Rail decided that fewer trains should use the tracks to avoid tripping out the power.

Network Rail spokeswoman Laura Dobson said: "We have to be very careful. Our engineers are trying to restore the feeder station.

"We're still assessing the damage. Quite a lot of damage has been done."

Southend Rail Travellers' Association spokesman Peter Slattery said: "Why are they cancelling fast trains that could have gone via Tilbury, why did they cancel trains starting at Laindon? c2c could have done a lot better."

But a c2c spokesman said: "It's not under our total control. It's not our decision whether we use the track."

Published Monday July 19, 2004

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