RAILTRACK bosses have agreed to meet highways officials to discuss the safety of railway bridges over the East Coast Main Line - more than six weeks after highways chiefs called for urgent talks.

Durham County Council confirmed last night that a date had been set to discuss its structural survey on bridges in the region, days after The Northern Echo highlighted Railtrack's "go-slow" on bridge dangers.

The report conducted in the wake of the Selby crash - when a car was able to slip past safety barriers into the path of a speeding train in the main line - identifies several in need of work.

It reinforces a Northern Echo investigation, which found dozens of bridges between Newcastle and York inadequately protected. Last week, we reported on the growing frustration of highway officials who had been waiting six weeks for a Railtrack response.

The company had said it seemed that the report had "not been sent to the right place in the organisation".

A county council spokesman said last night: "A date has now been fixed - we will be meeting with Railtrack representatives on August 23 to discuss the report we sent to them.

"We are delighted that we are moving forward on this matter."

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