Major disruption to rail services between Newcastle and Edinburgh due to heavy flooding
There is major disruption on the rail network north of Newcastle due to heavy flooding.
All lines between Newcastle and Edinburgh are blocked due to the flooding at Grantshouse, to the north of Berwick-upon-Tweed.
As a result, National Rail is warning that trains running between the two cities may be cancelled or severely delayed by up to 100 minutes.
Major disruption is expected until the end of the day and LNER is warning people not to travel.
CrossCountry, LNER, Lumo, Northern and TransPennine Express services are affected.
Rail replacement buses are running between Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh.
Hundreds of people were left stranded at Newcastle Station due to the cancelled services north to Scotland, with huge queues for replacement buses and passengers told they may have to wait up to five hours to board.
Queues for the bus services stretched hundreds of metres down the street outside the city centre station and spiralled around the concourse inside.
One woman heading for Edinburgh said: “This just can’t be happening. I’ve got a health condition and I can’t wait outside like this.”
James Brownhill, from London, said: “It’s just chaos. But there’s nothing you can do. If it’s flooded, it’s flooded.
“I think I’m just going to have to stay in Newcastle tonight.”
Meanwhile, due to a serious fault caused by flood damage at a Network Rail substation on the Tyne and Wear Metro, some services will be disrupted for seven days.
The Metro is unable to run on the Sunderland line beyond Park Lane.
Network Rail engineers are assessing the damage to determine a timescale for repairs, but it is expected to take at least seven days.
Tyne and Wear Metro are operating a 24-minute service between Pelaw and Park Lane, with no trains travelling to University, Millfield, Pallion or South Hylton stations. A 20 minute service will operate on Sunday, as normal.
Stagecoach bus services 8,10,11 and 20 are accepting Metro tickets between Sunderland and South Hylton.
Paul Rutter, East Coast Route Director for Network Rail said: “We’re really sorry for the disruption between Park Lane and South Hylton, which has been caused by flood damage.
"We’re working with Nexus to keep passengers moving wherever we can while we plan and carry out repairs. There will likely be changes to services over the coming days, so people should check before travelling.”
Customer services director at Nexus, Huw Lewis, said: “Metro customers using this part of the Sunderland line should look to plan alternative journeys for at least the next week.
“We hope to share further updates soon, following Network Rail’s site assessment and would advise customers to keep an eye on our website and Twitter feed for details of service information.”
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