Train services between Norwich and London were also delayed

The incident at Hatfield Peverel in Essex involved a commuter train from London to Suffolk and Norfolk.

Operator One Rail has apologised to passengers who will receive a full refund of their fares.

They also said because of the nature of the incident they were unable to get a rescue engine into the area.

Passengers were stuck on the train for four hours and the line was not cleared until the early hours of Thursday morning.

A One Rail spokeswoman said: "A full investigation is being carried out with Network Rail who are responsible for the power cables.

"We also apologise to passengers because we could not get a rescue train to them and there was only a limited supply of refreshments on the train.

"We will be offering a full refund of fares under our charter and will investigate to find out why the cables came down."