Engineers worked through the night to get to the root of the problem at Alresford station after the platform collapsed.

Rail services were thrown into chaos yesterday after the platform was found to be buckling under pressure.

Railtrack staff hoped the station would be open for the evening peak but it was forced to remain closed, meaning people could get the train in but not out of the station.

A spokesman for Railtrack said the problem was caused by clay underpinning 14 metres of platform becoming "spongey."

He said the situation was worse than it had first thought, meaning it had been forced to close it for the night and only allow trains to pass through in one direction at 20mph. In the short term a temporary surface will be laid and in the long term new supports will have to be laid.

This morning trains heading to London were stopping at the station, but Clacton-bound passengers had to take a bus from Wivenhoe if they wanted to reach Alresford

Published Wednesday, February 20, 2002