BRITAIN'S fastest rail line had to be closed yesterday - leaving hundreds of passengers to finish their journey by coach.

Engineers ordered the closure of the East Coast Main Line - that runs between London and Edinburgh - when safety netting designed to protect the route from overhead cables became detached.

Scaffolding had to be erected on the line to repair the safety netting near Newton Aycliffe in County Durham.

Train services were stopped at Durham City and York where passengers transferred to coaches.

The drama began just before 6am when Network Rail, the company responsible for Britain's rail infrastructure, received reports that the netting had come partially adrift.

Ironically the net was in place to protect the main line's overhead power cables from domestic power lines which run over the top.

Network Rail immediately disconnected power to a section of the line between Darlington and Durham City - stopping GNER's 225 express trains in their tracks.

Alan Hyde, a spokesman for GNER, said the company had used emergency diesel trains - nicknamed Thunderbirds after the Gerry Anderson cult TV show - to pull the 225s through.

But when workers inspected the netting they advised Network Rail to close the line so they could erect scaffolding. Mr Hyde said: "The only way they could reach the netting and restore it was to erect a temporary platform on the line.

"Clearly it was impossible to run any trains while this was going on - no matter how slowly they may have been travelling."

Instead the company laid on a fleet of coaches to shuttle travellers between York and Durham City.

Mr Hyde said the disruption had added about an hour to average journey times.

Power was restored after five hours and services resumed a normal schedule shortly thereafter.

This isn't the first time travellers have experienced delays recently.

Passengers heading to London for the Christmas break had to put up with longer travel times due to engineering work.

Network Rail is investing £12m to upgrade the route but points replacement has led to delays over Christmas and New Year.