Three trains broke down on the section between Plymouth and Exeter at Dawlish.

Virgin has stopped Voyagers running along the sea-wall stretch during high tides, until the problem is solved.

The company decided the trains might not be reliable enough for the route for four hours on Thursday morning.

The trains' black boxes are to be examined

Passengers were told they would have to use their tickets on other train services.

Neill Mitchell Devon and Cornwall Business Council said: "Only a couple of weeks ago we had the launch of the new Virgin fleet - the Voyagers.

"They've been around for quite a while, we are familiar with them.

"They produced this wonderful literature that said 'prepare for a journey like no other', and it certainly seems they were not prepared for the journey at Dawlish Warren."

On Wednesday, a Virgin Trains spokesman said the trains were brought to a halt when the high tide was "lashing" the line there.

Other services

He said: "A lot of water was being flung on to the line as the trains were passing, and engines shut down.

"It is the first time we have encountered this kind of problem.

"We are downloading data from the black box data system to check exactly what the problem is."

Other train services have been able to proceed along the affected stretch.