Repairs to Plessey viaduct on the East Coast main line between Cramlington and Morpeth were set to disrupt services until early November.
During planned engineering works over the weekend of 7-8 October, Network Rail discovered that the parapet had moved. Work was stopped and specialist structural teams attended the site to assess options to repair the bridge. NR says the structure of the viaduct has not been affected, so trains were able to resume running but using just one track.
With only the Down (northbound) line available, Up trains crossed to the Down line just north of Morpeth station, returning to the Up line south of the viaduct at Plessey crossovers. As a result, most Up trains have not been calling at Morpeth station.
Long-distance services operated broadly to timetable, with LNER, Lumo and CrossCountry services continuing to operate. Most Northern local services north from Newcastle were cancelled, and TransPennine Express services north of Newcastle ran between…
