Normal railway service on the Southminster branch line will resume from Monday (October 31), Greater Anglia has confirmed.

Last month, Greater Anglia imposed speed restrictions on the line, as soil beneath the track bed between Wickford and Southminster had dried out following "extremely hot and dry conditions this summer".

Repairs to the railway track and the subsequent reduced service caused disruption for many commuters.

Sir John Whittingdale, MP for Maldon, met with representatives from Greater Anglia and Network Rail last Thursday (October 20), to discuss the matter.

This afternoon, Jonathan Denby, Head of Corporate Affairs at Greater Anglia, said: "On weekdays, there are two direct trains between Southminster and London in the morning at 06.05am and 06.46am.

"But, at the moment, there is one direct service in the evening at 5.58pm from London Liverpool Street.

"This reflects the emerging travel trends in the recovery from the pandemic.

"We will continue to monitor and respond to evolving travel patterns, but at this stage there isn't a timescale for reintroducing another direct return service.

Severe disruption caused by issues with the railway infrastructure led to numerous complaints from residents who rely on the service to get to work, or to get their children to school.

In response, Mr Denby says there is now a revised contingency timetable which can be 'more quickly and easily deployed' in the event of similar problems, "which, to be fair, we have not seen on this scale before."

Last month, Mark Walker, Route Infrastructure Engineer at Network Rail, apologised for the disruption on the Southminster Line.

In a video published to YouTube, he explained: "The Southminster line is built over London clay, which shrinks when it gets very dry.

"The long, hot summer that we've had has caused the clay that sits under our railway to shrink.

"That means the ballast that supports the sleepers on the track bed has also settled down into the gaps left by the London clay, causing the track to become wavy on top.

"That waviness needs to be corrected by maintenance activities."

In the same video, Paula Wilson, Area Customer Service Manager for Greater Anglia, admitted the recent timetable changes had been 'incredibly disruptive and frustrating' for passengers.

Have you been affected by disruption to the railway? Share your experiences here.