Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Train services back on track

Pa
Monday 30 May 2011 09:01 BST
Comments

Rail schedules were back on track today after damage to overhead power lines caused two days of disruption.

Passengers on the east coast main line were faced with scores of cancellations and delays after overhead equipment was damaged in two separate incidents.

Journeys on the route, which runs between Aberdeen and London's Kings Cross, were affected for much of yesterday, after power lines in Copmanthorpe, south of York, were damaged. Diesel trains carried passengers through the affected area but many travellers faced hour-long delays.

The problems followed hours of chaos on the line on Saturday, when 200 metres of power lines were damaged near Grantham, Lincolnshire, leading to disruption on 70 scheduled services.

Journeys in both directions between Grantham, Lincolnshire, and Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, were cancelled.

A spokeswoman for service operator East Coast said both incidents had been resolved and trains were expected to run to the scheduled timetable today.

The cause of the damage to the lines on both occasions is unknown. A Network Rail spokesman said it could take "a couple of days" to pinpoint the cause adding that the problems could have been caused by a number of things including a technical problem with the lines, vandalism or even a carrier bag becoming entangled in the overhead wires.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in