Rail commuters in Suffolk faced a morning of travel chaos as signalling problems at Stowmarket closed the main line to London.

All lines between Norwich and Stowmarket were blocked between 6am and 8am today due to signalling problems, train operator Greater Anglia said.

Dozens of services were cancelled or delayed across the region, including several journeys from Ipswich to London Liverpool Street and Peterborough, causing misery for morning commuters.

Signalling problems started at Stowmarket at just before 6am. Network Rail engineers worked on the scene to resolve the issue and all lines had been reopened by 8am.

A spokesman for Greater Anglia said: “Following earlier signalling problems between Norwich and Stowmarket all lines have now reopened. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

The spokesman added: “Train services between London Liverpool Street and Norwich are returning to normal but some services may still be cancelled or delayed at short notice. Normal services will be provided as soon as possible.”

The train operator added in a statement that Network Rail engineers worked “as fast as possible” to fix the problem, which involved a loss of signalling on the mainline between south of the Norwich area and north of Stowmarket.