PASSENGERS travelling on key Greater Anglia routes face delays after a track defect was discovered between Ingatestone and Chelmsford, forcing trains to run at reduced speeds.

Network Rail engineers identified the fault on the line towards Chelmsford, prompting immediate speed restrictions.

That means, all trains are running at reduced speed and Network Rail engineers are working on the defect and and hope to get the train service back to normal.

The disruption affects multiple mainline services, including:

• London Liverpool Street – Braintree

• London Liverpool Street - Clacton on Sea

• London Liverpool Street - Colchester Town

• London Liverpool Street – Ipswich

• Intercity services between London Liverpool Street and Norwich

There is no current estimate for when services will return to normal, with engineers continuing repairs.

Greater Anglia has apologised for the disruption, encouraging customers to check for real-time updates at journeycheck.com/greateranglia.

Advance ticket holders may use earlier or later services if their booked train is cancelled. Passengers delayed by 15 minutes or more could be entitled to compensation via the Delay Repay scheme.

For live updates, visit livemap.greateranglia.co.uk.

Electric bikes and e-scooters are not permitted on rail replacement buses.

Update: 

Railway services resumed as normal from about 7am on Thursday morning.