An investigation was today under way to discover the cause of major disruption on the First Great Eastern line through south Essex.

The probe will try to establish how and why power lines came down on to the track - which forced the closure of the service between Liverpool Street and Southend Victoria for three hours yesterday.

The company described the situation as "pretty dire" and promised that an investigation would start immediately into the cause of the chaos.

Commuters were advised to switch train operators to get home after the power cables were brought down near Ilford.

All four lines were closed between 2.45pm and 5.30pm after which time local lines were reopened. But the knock-on effect for travellers was felt late into the evening.

Customers who stuck with First Great Eastern got Metro service trains to Shenfield where they had to change to continue to Southend.

A spokeswoman for the firm said some customers were advised to use the rival c2c line from Fenchurch Street which accepted First Great Eastern tickets.

She said: "It was pretty dire. We are not yet sure why the power lines came down - that is under investigation."

Peter Slattery, chairman of Southend Rail Travellers' Association, said: "Rail travellers are kept in the dark unnecessarily. They might know what has caused the cables to come down but won't say until after an inquiry."

Published Wednesday, June 25, 2003

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