with an expansion to the miniature railway at Wat Tyler Country Park, Pitsea, which has transformed it into the second longest attraction of its kind in the UK.

The Wat Tyler Miniature railway will now chug an extra 546 yards around the Pitsea beauty spot thanks to a £90,000 investment.

The project has also seen the number of platforms where families hop on and off doubled to four and means a peaceful train journey around the 125-acre park, off Pitsea Hall Lane, now lasts for 30 minutes.

As well as enlarging the track to a total of 1.2km to loop the entire beauty spot, extra carriages have also been added to the miniature locomotive so the train can hold 70 people a time.

Rides are now operating at weekends, weather permitting ,and it is hoped the improvements will attract tens of thousands of visitors as the summer months approach.

Kevin Blake, councillor responsible for leisure at Basildon Council, said: “It’s an incredibly popular attraction, and gives customers a really unique and way of seeing the park.”

Richard Moss, from the private firm Go Bonkers, which operates the railway, said he’d already had great feedback from families.

He said: “We opened two weeks ago for the weekend and people said they love the expansion.

“We are offering wristbands so families can hop on and off from different locations in the park when they want.”

Approval for the upgrade to the miniature railway was granted in 2008, but a hold up due to building work problems has meant the track expansion couldn’t be completed until now.

The extension means the Wat Tyler train is now the second longest miniature railway in the country. The biggest is the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch railway in Kent.

Funding has come from the council and the Veolia ES Cleanaway Pitsea Marshes Trust.

Go Bonkers, which is based in Southlands Road, Crays Hill, will also bring its popular bouncy castles session for kids back to the park during the Easter Holidays next month.