EARLY rush-hour rail services were disrupted following the death of a man on the East Coast line today.

A body was found in the Nevilles Cross area of Durham, a mile south of the city's railway station, after a report from the driver of a northbound goods train, shortly after 5am.

Durham Police officers, accompanied by representatives of line operator Network Rail, went to the scene, at the Nevilles Cross cutting, and discovered the body, suffering injuries consistent with being hit by a train.

The area was sealed off and an investigation was launched by British Transport Police.

Speaking this morning, Inspector Tony Bell, of Durham Police, said that the man's identity is not yet known.

"From the report from the driver of the goods train, it appears the man was killed by being struck by a train.

"A full investigation is being carried out by British Transport Police who are now at the scene.

"All trains were stopped, following the incident, so there was inevitably some disruption for rail traffic."

South-bound trains using the main line resumed between Newcastle and Darlington around two hours of the discovery of the body.

But northbound trains were out of action for more than three hours, causing delays for commuters travelling to Newcastle and beyond.

A British Transport Police (BTP) spokeswoman said efforts were being made to identify the body so that relatives could be informed.

She said a post-mortem will be carried out later and a report prepared for the coroner.

The spokeswoman said: "The driver of a Billingham to Tyne Docks freight train reported striking what was believed to be a body on the line in the area.

"Officers attended the scene and the body of a male adult was discovered. The male has yet to be identified "Investigations are ongoing, the incident is currently being deemed as unexplained."

BTP 'handed' the line back to Network Rail to full resume train services shortly before 8am.