Rail blazes cause delays
TRAIN services between Edinburgh and London suffered severe delays yesterday after a string of fires close to the line.
East Coast Rail advised passengers to seek alternative services, and also supplied buses, after the fires near Doncaster – and in a broken-down train at Peterborough – delayed some trains by more than two hours and caused knock-on delays to other services.
It is understood the fires were caused by sparks from an old-fashioned steam train igniting patches of dry grass close to the railway line.
The fires covered an 18-mile stretch of track and, at one stage, five teams of firefighters were called out to deal with the blaze.