'Major disruption' to North East rail services as LNER passengers told not to travel

Network Rail said a “number of incidents between Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh means all lines are disrupted. As a result, trains will be cancelled, delayed by up to 90 minutes or revised.”

The chaos began this morning due to urgent repairs the Hermitage Overline Bridge, between Darlington and Newcastle. The bridge - south of Chester-le-Street - was damaged overnight and full repairs will take place at the end of service today.

A points failure between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Dunbar has caused further delay.

Several major rail operators are impacted by the disruption, with Network rail stating it will continue until the end of the day. The below services are impacted:

• LNER passengers travelling between London Kings Cross and Newcastle / Edinburgh / Aberdeen have been urged not to travel. A spokesperson for LNER said: “We highly advise deferring your travel if you can.” Rail replacement coaches have been sourced to run between York, Darlington, Durham Newcastle and Edinburgh.

• Lumo services between London Kings Cross and Newcastle / Edinburgh are also impacted. This is due to a points failure between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Dunbar.

• CrossCountry between Penzance / Plymouth / Birmingham New Street / Sheffield and Edinburgh, between Plymouth and Newcastle / Glasgow Central / Dundee, and also between Bristol Temple Meads and Edinburgh

• TransPennine Express between York / Leeds and Newcastle, and also between Newcastle and Edinburgh.