DOZENS of train services across Essex have been cancelled due to the hot weather.

Greater Anglia announced speed restrictions and some cancellations this morning following a request from Network Rail.

A spokesman for Greater Anglia said: "With very high temperatures forecast for the region on Monday, June 19, speed restrictions will be introduced on some lines to protect the railway infrastructure and keep services running, but at a slower speed.

"Therefore, Greater Anglia is advising customers to check before they travel.

"During hot weather, Network Rail will sometimes impose speed restrictions to prevent rails from buckling when they get very hot (the lower speeds exert less pressure on the rail) and to protect overhead lines, which may sag during very high temperatures.

"The introduction of speed restrictions has caused changes to our scheduled service."

The full list of cancellations is below:

Southend to London

10.50 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled

11.50 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled

12.10 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Terminates at Shenfield

12.50 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled

13.10 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled

13.50 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled

14.10 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled

16.10 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled

17.25 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled

18.20 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled

19.10 Southend Victoria to London Liv St – Cancelled

London to Southend

12.13 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Cancelled

13.13 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Cancelled

14.13 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Cancelled

15.13 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Cancelled

15.35 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Formed of 4 coaches, not 8

17.15 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Formed of 8 coaches, not 12

17.25 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Cancelled

18.35 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Cancelled

19.35 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Cancelled

20.35 London Liv St to Southend Victoria – Cancelled

London to Braintree

12.48 London Liv St to Braintree – Starts at Ingatestone

13.48 London Liv St to Braintree – Starts at Ingatestone

14.48 London Liv St to Braintree – Formed of 8 coaches, not 12

15.48 London Liv St to Braintree – Cancelled

17.20 London Liv St to Braintree – Starts at Witham

18.00 London Liv St to Braintree – Starts at Witham

Braintree to London

16.00 Braintree to London Liv St – Formed of 8 coaches, not 12

17.00 Braintree to London Liv St – Terminates at Witham

18.33 Braintree to London Liv St – Terminates at Witham

19.25 Braintree to London Liv St – Cancelled

Southminster services

17.22 London Liv St to Southminster – Cancelled

18.36 Southminster to Shenfield – Cancelled

Witham services

16.17 London Liv St to Witham – Cancelled.

18.16 Witham to London Liv St – Cancelled

Clacton services

17.32 London Liv St to Clacton On Sea – Starts at Colchester

London to Norwich

12.00 London Liv St to Norwich – Cancelled

13.00 London Liv St to Norwich – Cancelled

14.00 London Liv St to Norwich – Cancelled

15.00 London Liv St to Norwich – Cancelled

16.00 London Liv St to Norwich – Cancelled

17.50 London Liv St to Norwich – Cancelled

19.00 London Liv St to Norwich – Cancelled

Norwich to London

09:30 Norwich to London Liv St - Cancelled

10:30 Norwich to London Liv St - Cancelled

11:30 Norwich to London Liv St - Cancelled

12.30 Norwich to London Liv St – Cancelled

13.30 Norwich to London Liv St – Cancelled

15.30 Norwich to London Liv St – Cancelled

16.30 Norwich to London Liv St – Cancelled

17.30 Norwich to London Liv St – Cancelled

18.30 Norwich to London Liv St - Cancelled

London to Ipswich

17.18 London Liv St to Ipswich – Cancelled

18.18 London Liv St to Ipswich – Cancelled

Ipswich to London

15.52 Ipswich to London Liv St – Cancelled

18.49 Ipswich to London Liv St – Cancelled

19.52 Ipswich to London Liv St – Cancelled

A Greater Anglia spokesman said: "We apologise to customers affected by train cancellations caused by speed restrictions due to the very hot weather.

"We had to run our trains at lower speeds, as requested by Network Rail, in order to prevent damage to overhead lines sagging in the heat.

"Unfortunately we were unable to run the normal number of services because of the lower speeds.

"We tried to give customers prior notice of cancellations. We also tried to make the journeys as comfortable as possible by offering customers free bottles of water."

A Network Rail spokesman said: "The speed restrictions in place today are between Bow (just outside London Liverpool Street) to Seven Kings and Brentwood – Shenfield to stop trains damaging the overhead wires.

"This is a much shorter section than previous years when we used to put restrictions in from Bow to Chelmsford.

"This is because we have been working to replace the overhead wires with new wires that don’t sag in the hot weather, so trains can pass at their normal speed.

"There is also a speed restriction on the Southend Victoria Line between Shenfield and Southend Victoria for the same reason.

"We are currently working in the evenings from Monday to Thursday to replace the overhead wires with the new wires between Shenfield and Wickford."