Railway hit by flooding

Parts of the track are under water

Rail services on the East Coast Rail Line are facing further disruption after flooding raised safety fears over two bridges.

Flooding and landslides in the Borders caused the closure of the line on Monday morning, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.

Thousands more had their journeys disrupted and were being urged to travel the following day if possible.

Railtrack had hoped to reopen the line early on Monday evening - but that plan was delayed because of safety concerns.

Train companies will not be able to resume services until divers have checked two railway bridges thought to have been damaged by high water.

One train had to be towed

Heavy rain caused the flash floods which led to the line's closure, with the 0630 BST Newcastle to Glasgow service left stranded near Grantshouse between two landslides.

The 200 passengers on board were stuck for three hours before the train was towed to safety.

Passengers have been bussed between Berwick and Dunbar throughout the day and train companies urged travellers to postpone their journeys until Tuesday.

GNER said it would honour tickets booked for travel on Monday.

Spokesman David Mallander said flooding had exceeded the height of the rails on some parts of the track.

'Not ideal'

Several hundred people were waiting at Waverley station in Edinburgh for trains to Newcastle and London.

About 35 buses were being used to carry passengers.

"It is not ideal, but we are keeping people moving," Mr Mallander added.

A spokesman for Virgin Trains said the line was unlikely to re-open before this evening.

Homes damaged

Passengers were told their tickets would be valid on the Virgin west coast services, but warned that seats were scarce due to extra bank holiday customers.

Virgin was also accepting GNER tickets on West Coast main line trains to help during the disruption.

Several home and farms in the Grantshouse area were also damaged by the flooding.

And there were further problems for farmers in the area, with some animals becoming stranded as a river burst its banks.