RAIL bosses have revealed why they were forced to shut down an entire network of trains when Storm Eunice struck on Friday.

The storm brought gusts of up to 75mph to south Essex and saw numerous trees felled and damage to buildings.

A number of roads were shut due to fallen trees, while both c2c and Greater Anglia were forced to suspend all services.

C2c has revealed there were a number of incidents which forced it to halt all trains in south Essex.

They included:

  • Power issues to the overhead lines between Grays and Barking
  • High winds caused plastic sheeting to become trapped in the overhead lines between Southend East and Southend Central
  • A tent blowing onto the line at West Ham
  • Plastic blown onto overhead lines at Barking
  • Tree falling on the line at Benfleet
  • Power cuts affecting trains at Pitsea and Benfleet

Other objects were blown onto c2c lines throughout the weekend, and trains operated under speed restrictions ordered by Network Rail.

Bosses said they were very sorry for the disruptions and cancellations over the past few days but say services are back to normal and speed restrictions have also been removed.

A spokesman said: “Suspending all services is a rare occurrence and not something we do lightly, as we appreciate our customers rely on us. However, in these circumstances it was unsafe to continue running trains with obstructions continuing to fall onto the railway.

“Once the situation was clear, the best solution, under these circumstances, was to temporarily suspend services, the team set about fixing the issues, and getting trains, drivers and station staff back into position to restart the service once it was safe to do so.”

C2c says any passengers affected can see if they are eligible for compensation by visiting their website.