SOUTHEND commuters have been sweltering in sealed train carriages with no air conditioning.

Complaints poured in to Greater Anglia’s Twitter account after the 5.54pm service from London Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria set off, with commuters complaining of unbearable temperatures in the new Demonstrator carriages.

Because the carriages are meant to be air conditioned, passengers are not able to open windows for ventilation, meaning temperatures rise rapidly when the system is not operating – particularly on a busy rush-hour service.

The Met Office recorded temperatures of 25C in Southend at the time of the train’s journey.

The incident also does not appear to be an issue isolated to the Southend Victoria service, with commuters complaining of a similar problem aboard the 5.54pm service from Liverpool Street to Stanstead Airport and the 5.47pm service to Cambridge.