Greater Anglia's train cancellations 'over the top', says travel group

Greater Anglia ran a reduced service on Tuesday based on the snow predictions

A train operator "overreacted" by cancelling more than 1,000 services due to wintry conditions, a travel group said.

East Suffolk Travellers Association said Greater Anglia's decision to cancel services ahead of the snowfall was "over the top".

Greater Anglia said snow fell further south than predicted and was more "localised" than expected.

It apologised but said it "needed to prepare for the worst".

East of England snow disruption latest

Greater Anglia announced on Tuesday morning that it had cancelled more than 1,000 services as heavy snowfall was predicted.

It has since announced that services between Ipswich and Felixstowe have been restored and it is expecting to run a full service on Wednesday and Thursday.

The firm first expected to run a reduced service until Thursday but said the "expected snowfall only materialised on a localised basis".

It said there may be some delays, disruption and service alterations as more snow is forecast.

Greater Anglia said it had to "prepare for the worst"

Trevor Garrod, chairman of the East Suffolk Travellers Association, said Greater Anglia "overreacted" and should have put on an "emergency timetable".

Steve Hooker, head of maintenance delivery for Network Rail, said it "had to make a judgement" based on the information available.

"Our main focus is to make sure we don't have people trapped on trains in freezing conditions with no real prospect of rescuing them in a short period of time," he said.

'Busy day'

c2c Rail ran a "limited service" and said a normal timetable was planned for Wednesday.

There were delays on Great Northern trains between London Kings Cross and King's Lynn.

Meanwhile, East Midland Trains ran a normal service between Norwich and Liverpool Lime Street.

On the roads, Suffolk Police said it had been a "busy day" with "lots of reports of minor collisions".

"Generally people have made alternate travel plans and driven to the conditions," said Ch Insp Matthew Rose.