Passengers face disruption as rail lines connecting Scotland and England are cut off. Plus travel update.

Travel update 4.55 pm:  The line has opened between Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed with an hourly train service now operating in both directions between London King’s Cross and Berwick upon Tweed.

- There will be an on the hour service from London Kings Cross to Edinbugh, and a half past the hour service from Edinburgh to London Kings Cross.

- No East Coast services will run between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh, but travellers can use ScotRail services. East Coast trains are running between Inverness and Edinburgh.

- A normal service is running between Leeds/Newcastle and London Kings Cross.

-  Passengers can use tickets for travel between North East England and Scotland valid today on Saturday. East Coast passengers may use other providers’ services on all reasonable routes today (Friday).

- There are continuing problems on the West Highland Line around Crianlarich with no trains between Mallaig and Glasgow Queen Street and Oban and Glasgow Queen Street. Replacement bus services are operating.

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THOUSANDS of train passengers faced delays and disruption after landslides and flooding cut off the main rail lines connecting Scotland and England.

The disruption brought about by the heavy rain and thunderstorms that have battered parts of central and northern England came as schoolchildren across Scotland began their summer holidays.

The West Coast Main Line was closed after a landslip at Tebay in Cumbria and flooding at Oxenholme in the Lake District, while on the East Coast Main Line a landslip meant services between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Durham were cancelled.

Meanwhile, a freight train was derailed between Tulloch and Corrour in the Highlands, resulting in the cancellation of the sleeper service from Fort William.

Newcastle station was temporarily closed by flooding and lightning, which caused signalling problems, while cross-country services between Darlington and Scotland were called off and East Coast Trains announced tickets for yesterday would be valid today.

National Rail Enquiries announced on its Twitter feed: "Flooding and landslips are causing heavy delays on routes between Northern England and Scotland, with very limited travel options."

Network Rail Scotland said: "Apologies for the disruption to cross-border services this evening due to flooding and landslips caused by the extreme weather conditions."

Passengers on the West Coast Main Line faced further problems when train operating companies had problems sourcing buses to take customers between Lancaster and Carlisle due to flooding on roads.

Network Rail said it was aiming to reopen the route at 5am.

One Virgin Trains service from London to Glasgow was stranded between two landslides in the Lake District for more than two hours, but was last night heading back towards Oxenholme.

On the East Coast line, rail operators advised passengers not to travel between Newcastle and Scotland as the line was obstructed at Berwick by flooding and a landslip. People wishing to travel south had to leave trains at Berwick and wait for buses to take them.

Motorists also faced hazardous driving conditions. Northumbria Police said last night roads were passable with care as the A1 Acklington to Felton had one lane open and the Newcastle Central Motorway East was running.

At Glasgow's Central Station, passengers sought information about their journeys as they faced the prospect of delays during the peak holiday season. Martha Causer, 53, from Rutherglen, was going to Cheshire to visit family.

She said: "There was a massive queue when we got here. We'll have to wait an extra hour-and-a-half before we get down there."

John Singleton, 51, from the US, and his family were trying to return to relatives in Newcastle after a trip to the Scottish capital.

He said: "We were up visiting Edinburgh for the day, but they told us we should travel back to Newcastle via Glasgow. It now looks like we're going to be stuck in Carlisle overnight."

Newcastle station was closed by flooding and a lightning strike that knocked out signalling. It reopened at 6.30pm.

Earlier, pensioner Michael Ellis was swept to his death by flood water in Shropshire.

A Met Office warning of thunder and torrential rains across much of Scotland was in force until 6am this morning.