TRAINS were cancelled delayed for most of the morning on the c2c line yesterday – after a fire alarm went off.

A signalling centre at Upminster was evacuated at about 6.30am when the fire alarm went off unexpectedly.

However, although it was understood to be false alarm and over within 15 minutes, the disruption caused a cascade effect which led to delays of 10 to 15 minutes on most services until after 11am, as well as the cancellation of three rush hour services.

A c2c spokesman said: "We are sorry for everyone whose journey was delayed or disrupted this morning, after a fire alarm at the signalling centre at Upminster.

“All signals on the route were switched to red while the building was evacuated, as an automatic safety feature, and then services resumed within 15 minutes."

In all, the 7.13am to Fenchurch Street was cancelled, along with the 8.14am to Fenchurch Street and the 8.17am from Fenchurch Street to Grays. In addition the 7.32am Fenchurch Street to Pitsea service terminated early at Stanford-le-Hope, with the rest of the journey being cancelled.

The disruption was also compounded by a passenger being taken ill at West Horndon, which caused further delays, along the network.

Dan Cheriton, 40, of Herongate, Brentwood, experienced a delay of about ten minutes on his regular commute West Horndon to Fenchurch Street.

He said: “I usually get the 8.06am from West Horndon and was late arriving by about two minutes which I immediately thought was unusual because, although we’ve had some big issues with overcrowding and the new timetable, punctuality is something c2c does very well.

“After that, there were further delays, which meant I arrived about ten minutes late but, to put it into context, I used to use the Greater Anglia line to Liverpool Street when I lived in Rayleigh and was used to putting up with far worse.

“Where I live, I’m actually closer to Shenfield station, but I choose to go a little further to West Horndon for the c2c line because it’s cheaper and more reliable for punctuality.”

Peter Slattery, 57, of Central Avenue, Southend, commutes daily from Southend to Dagenham and is chairman of the Southend Rail Travellers’ Association.

He said: “It’s unusual to hear of a fire alarm causing delays, it’s the first time I’ve heard of that.

“My train was on time, and my connecting train to Dagenham was one minute late, so I wasn’t affected dramatically.

“There wasn’t any major delays on the line which I was travelling, it was all running quite smoothly for me, fortunately.”