Second day of chaos on the railway: East coast line to Newcastle set to remain shut today

RAIL travellers faced a second day of chaos today after “super-storms” caused flooding and landslides which forced lines to close.

Trains on both east and west coast mainlines were cancelled last night, cutting off the rail link between Scotland and England.

The east coast line between Edinburgh and Newcastle was still closed today, but services were running again on the west coast line.

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Meanwhile a flood alert issued yesterday, covering Edinburgh and the Lothians, remained in force this morning.

The fierce storms and torrential downpours which caused flash floods across parts of the UK yesterday, killing one man who was swept away in a stream in Shropshire, brought widespread disruption to the transport system.One train from London to Glasgow finally arrived at its destination at 3am today after a 15-hour journey beset by flooding, landslips and a fire on board.

East Coast Trains said it had cancelled all services between Newcastle and Edinburgh today following floods in Cumbria and near Newcastle and a landslip near Berwick-upon-Tweed.The company said there would be no replacement bus services or alternative transport arrangements between Scotland and England.

A spokesman said: “There are going to be no services running between Edinburgh and Newcastle today. It’s still affected by the landslip and flooding just south of Berwick yesterday. Engineers are working flat out to get that sorted. It’s likely to be tomorrow morning before that line is open again.”

He said tickets for travel today and yesterday would be valid tomorrow.

Network Rail said one of the landslips near Berwick-upon-Tweed involved more than 30 tonnes of material on the line.

A spokesman said: “Engineers have been on site since yesterday and work has begun to clear that.” But he said the west coast mainline had now reopened. “Engineers worked through the night to deal with a landslip between Carlisle and Lancaster.”

Elsewhere, a freight train derailment near Tulloch has blocked the West Highland line between Crianlarich and Mallaig. ScotRail’s Caledonian sleeper service from Fort William to London Euston, which was due to run overnight, was cancelled and trains between Crianlarich and Mallaig were also suspended.