Thousands of commuters in East Anglia faced travel chaos after a freight train smashed into part of an articulated lorry in Essex.

The lorry's cab ended up blocking the track after it had rolled off the A137 between Ardleigh and Manningtree at about 0525 BST on Monday.

Minutes later it was struck by the freight train - in an incident similar to the accident at Selby which claimed the lives of 10 people.

The line is the main route into London from East Anglia and is used by thousands of commuters.

The railway bridge where the lorry crashed

Anglia Railways spokesman Peter Meades said services were running between Norwich and Ipswich with coaches taking travellers to Colchester to link up with trains into London.

He said journeys between Norwich and London were taking about an hour longer than usual.

Police said the lorry smashed into the wall of a railway bridge while approaching a corner before careering on to the line.

The 47-year-old driver from Essex is believed to have pulled himself out of the cab moments before it was hit by a Colchester-bound goods train.

He is being treated in Colchester General Hospital where his condition is stable.

The driver and a colleague in the Freightliner freight train, which stayed upright, were described as "shocked but unhurt".

Loud crash

Chief Inspector Iain Logan of Essex Police said: "We had a report that a lorry had struck the railway bridge and had come down the embankment.

"As the call was being put in, a train travelling towards London struck the cab on the track."

Maxine Smith, 39, who lives next to the railway line, said she was woken by a loud crash.

She said: "We heard just an mighty bang like an explosion and we looked out of the window.

"The driver had got out and as I was on the phone to the emergency services the train hit the cab.

"There was debris all over the track. The driver had rolled himself off the track towards the embankment.

"We have been trying to get the speed limit reduced here along this road from 60 mph to 40 mph but we have just heard that the police have rejected this."

The rest of the lorry and trailer are precariously balanced at the top of the embankment

Tim Fenton, BBC News Online

Tim Fenton of BBC News Online, at the scene, said it was amazing the accident had not been far worse.

"Debris from the cab of the lorry lies on the embankment and is strewn along the track. The remains of the cab are still trapped under the goods train locomotive.

"The rest of the lorry and trailer are precariously balanced at the top of the embankment."

Freightliner's director of strategy Roger Goundry said the 20-wagon locomotive was travelling to Birmingham from Felixstowe.

"The train struck the cab on the line and pushed it about a train's length down the track before it could stop," he said.

"The maximum speed this train is allowed to travel is 75 mph, and the fact that it stopped at that distance down the track suggests it was travelling at a slower speed than the maximum."

Services are likely to be back to normal by Tuesday morning with the possibility trains could be running by late on Monday afternoon.