Commuters travelling by train between Norwich and London faced serious delays today due to signalling problems.

Greater Anglia said the faults occurred in the signalling system between Norwich and Diss, and had affected level crossings between Stowmarket and Norwich.

Journeys were cancelled, revised or delayed by up to 90 minutes.

There had been concerns the problems were caused by the hot weather, but Network Rail confirmed this was not the case.

Temperatures have hit highs of 29C (84.2F) in London, making it the warmest day of the year.

One passenger spoke to this newspaper about her journey.

She said: “My train was late arriving in Norwich and it was clear from the look on the passenger’s faces getting off that they had had a long trip too.

“I’ve now been on the train for 45 minutes and we haven’t reached Diss yet. A journey that usually takes half this time.

“Although Greater Anglia have been very apologetic about the whole situation it’s not clear how long our journey will end up taking.”

Several trains were cancelled during the evening rush-hour period, meaning people struggled to get home after work.

A spokeswoman for Greater Anglia apologised to passengers affected.

She said: “We apologise to passengers who have been delayed today. This is due to signal faults between Norwich and Diss, which is affecting trains running between Norwich and London Liverpool Street.

“Network Rail engineers are on site, working to rectify the faults.”

Tickets restrictions were lifted so customers did not have to travel on the specific service they had booked.

Trains were also disrupted between Elmswell and Stowmarket this afternoon due to another signalling fault.

Problems were expected until 11pm.

Anyone whose journey is delayed by half an hour or longer is entitled to compensation for a portion of their fare.