TRAINS had to be halted after council contractors damaged a gas pipe while carrying out work on a new footpath.

It is the second time this year that engineers from Northern Gas Networks have had to do emergency repairs to pipes close to Durham Train Station because of damage done by contractors.

Durham County Council is making improvements to access to the station from the A691 Framwellgate Peth.

Yesterday, trains on the East Coast main line had to halted for a period while work was done to control the gas leak.

The council said the unmapped gas main was damaged while tree roots were being removed.

Northern Gas engineers arrived on the scene just after 11.35am and trains resumed at about 12.30pm.

John Richardson, customer operations area manager for Northern Gas Networks, said: ““The safety of members of public is our number one priority. Due to the close proximity of the railway line to the gas escape, the East Coast main line was closed through Durham while we worked to control the escape.

“We would like to apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused and thank everyone for their patience.”

John Reed, the council’s head of technical services, said: “During our work to improve access to Durham railway station, an unmapped gas main was damaged while tree roots were being removed. Temporary repairs were quickly put in place and disruption was kept to a minimum but we would like to apologise to anyone affected.”

The council is working on a new footpath and cycleway to improve access to the train station, which will run alongside Framwellgate Peth from County Hall to the station.

In February, workers drilled a borehole through a gas pipe while doing preparatory work ahead of doing this week’s path improvements.

The station had to be evacuated while trains on the East Coast main line were halted for five hours and the A691 Framwellgate Peth closed while engineers dealt with the leak.