TRAIN company Abellio Greater Anglia has been serving Essex and East Anglia since 2012.

As the current operator of the Greater Anglia train route, the Dutch company has just been awarded a long-term franchise which will run for the next nine years.

Overcrowding, overheating, delays, frustration, these are just a few words people have used to describe the train service from Southend Victoria to London.

Since we will be stuck with them for the next nine years, reporter Robyn Pierce decided to find out what all the fuss is really about.

It’s a Monday morning and I am dreading my journey to London. I arrive at Southend Victoria early, sure there will be a queue to get a ticket for my journey- but alas, its empty.

When I ask to buy a ticket my jaw nearly hits the floor as the man behind the counter utters a figure I am sure must be wrong.

£29.10 for a return ticket to London Liverpool Street, surely this can’t be right? Did he think I said first class? I quickly start to see why commuters get so frustrated.

I jump on the train, during what I expect to be one of the busier services but am surprised to see that it is relatively empty.

I look around, it’s reasonably clean, not falling apart and leaves on schedule.

Striking up a conversation, I start to talk to commuters to see if they are as impressed as I am, the answer- no.

Sam Singh, 23, travels to London Liverpool Street everyday for work. She said: “It’s not so bad. The train means I can work in London but I don’t have to live in the busy city.

“And I’m quite lucky, because I get on at the beginning of the service I can always get a seat.

“It isn’t always the best, but when it runs smoothly it is fine.

“When it is really hot is can get quite horrible. I don’t think there is air conditioning that works and that isn’t nice when you have to spend the whole day at work.

“I just hope that now they have the contract for a long time, Abellio really do invest in the trains to make our lives easier.”

As I ponder this I remember that as the company won the contract, they promised a number of upgrades and massive investment.

Abellio's bid included a commitment to 1,040 new carriages along the route, running 90-minute services between London and Norwich on weekdays and cutting journey times by ten per cent across the region.

While thinking about if I would ever use a train to get to Norwich, I am pulled out of thought by the train coming to a grinding halt.

I think to myself, “Ah, this is where it all goes wrong” but the driver informs us that we have stopped due to signaling problems” and we are on our way quickly after that.

The empty seats start to fill as the train passes the station and by the time we get to Billericay, the train is definitely a few degrees warmer.

Whilst there are just about enough seat, I am starting to be grateful for my usual drive to work.

Chris Turner, who is travelling from Billericay to Stratford believes the price is too high.

The 34-year-old said: “I think the service isn’t worth the money you have to pay.

“I fork out thousands of pounds for an annual ticket and then land up being late for work more times than I can count.

“But maybe it’s better that we have them for another nine years, at least we know what to expect.

“They just need to clean up their act. And it could always be worse, look at the people who get the Southern service.

As the train pulls into London Liverpool Street, three minutes later than planned, one thing is for sure, I am glad I don’t have to do this everyday.

I quickly grab a coffee and jump on the train back to Southend Victoria- eager to get back in my nice air conditioned car

My praise for the train service starts to dwindle slightly as I look at the board for train times.

London Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria… delayed... I am starting to understand everyone’s frustration.