A c2c boss has issued an apology to commuters after passengers were left stranded and crowd control measures were put in place as power failures caused major disruption.

The train network, which runs services across south Essex and east London, was hit by two power failures yesterday evening which caused long delays and cancellations.

The signalling system between Pitsea and Benfleet were impacted after a UK Power Network switch out in Pitsea at 4pm, which meant no services could run on the London-bound track between Pitsea and Laindon.

This disruption severely restricted the number of trains c2c could operate and crowd control measures were implemented at Fenchurch Street as crowds built up, with the station forced to temporarily close for safety.

While the fault was fixed by 6pm, the service remained severely affected before another signalling fault between Pitsea and Shoebury, which left a train trapped in the Pitsea area.

c2c managing director Rob Mullen, said: “I am very sorry for last night’s disruption on the c2c network. 

“I know this will have caused extensive delays to your journeys, especially as it happened at the worst possible time in the evening peak and when the weather was extremely cold.  

“We worked closely with our Network Rail colleagues throughout the evening to get our services up and running as quickly as possible but due to the severity of the power, it took longer than usual for normal running to resume.” 

At 7.50pm, UK Power Networks and Network Rail confirmed the power had been reinstated. However, the power outage caused considerable knock-on delays and cancellations to c2c services. 

Huw Margetts, Operations Director for Network Rail, Anglia said: “On Wednesday afternoon an outage affected the power network near Pitsea. This caused our signalling system in the area to fail. 

“The railway between Benfleet and Pitsea had to be closed while we fixed the problem. We know this disrupted many of our passengers’ journeys, for which we’re sorry.” 

Upon confirmation of the power failure, arrangements were made for c2c tickets to be accepted on First Buses, Greater Anglia and London Underground services to help provide alternative options for travel.

A bus replacement service also ran between Laindon and Leigh and Stanford- le-Hope and Pitsea. 

Mr Mullen added: “We know it was a difficult evening for customers so I would urge anyone caught up in the incident to share their feedback on last night’s disruption via the survey.

“This will allow us to review our current emergency plans and help us respond better to future disruption. The survey results and updates to plans will be shared with and delivered in collaboration with our partners at Network Rail.” 

The survey can be accessed at forms.office.com/e/DiY3GN0wLm.