Hundreds of commuters were left stranded on platforms after a fallen power line delayed rush-hour trains today.

All London-bound c2c trains from Southend were halted after the incident at 7.35am at Shoebury.

There were delays of more than an hour at the peak of the problem, while buses replaced trains between Shoebury and Leigh.

The latest chaos is the second incident this week after a 25m crane toppled over and blocked the line at Aveley.

Buses ran for three days on the Tilbury loop line between Grays and Pitsea and Grays and Barking.

After investigations by train operator c2c, normal services were resumed by 9.15am but a spokesman predicted more than an hour delay to shift the backlog of trains.

Published Friday, May 16, 2003

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