Rail line reopens after landslip

Jun 29 2012

A key London to Scotland rail route has reopened following the floods that have caused travel chaos and brought misery to many householders.

The clearing of the line between Newcastle upon Tyne and Berwick-upon-Tweed after a landslip meant the East Coast train company was able to run hourly services between London and Edinburgh.

Ticket restrictions are lifted on all East Coast services on the London to Newcastle and Scotland route, but only for the rest of Friday. Passengers who could not travel on this route on Thursday or Friday morning can use their tickets on Friday or Saturday.

The storms and heavy rain which afflicted large areas of the UK flooded various sections of the line and caused a landslip at Spittal, south of Berwick. This deposited more than 40 tons of earth on to the track and washed away embankments supporting the line.

Passengers travelling between England and Scotland endured nightmare rail journeys after the severe weather and an engine fire caused major disruption. Some endured a 15-hour journey between London and Glasgow after their train was stranded following a landslide in the Lake District.

The train disruption also delayed East Dunbartonshire MP Jo Swinson. She was due to be the first politician to speak at the launch of the Scotland Institute think-tank in Glasgow but arrived late so Edinburgh South West MP Alistair Darling spoke first.

The Liberal Democrat MP tweeted about her journey from London.

She wrote: "Due to landslide, trains suspended between Oxenholme & Penrith. Preston now crammed with grumpy travellers waiting on buses."

Later she added: "Evacuation now complete after train fire nr Moffat, all passengers & staff now warm, dry and safe on rear train, emergency services here."

ScotRail urged customers to check live travel updates before setting out at scotrail.co.uk/disruption.