TRAIN services across the region avoided delays caused by leaves on the lines yesterday, despite a weekend of wet and windy weather.

Spokesmen for GNER and Arriva reported that services were running "perfectly fine" and there were no problems so far.

Network Rail has employed a General Use Vehicle (Guv) to clear lines notorious for having problems with fallen leaves, including the west line between Newcastle and Carlisle, the area around Nunthorpe and the line between York and Scarborough.

For the past two weeks, the company has made a concerted effort to clear leaves from the lines when they are crushed, they form a hard Teflon-like coating which causes train wheels to slip and slide.

The GUV runs sandite - a sand and glue concoction - over the lines to scrape off the mulch, as well as using very high-pressure water jets to force the leaves off the tracks.

A Network Rail spokesman said hundreds of three-man teams had gone out to hotspots to remove leaves by hand if necessary.

"We are doing extremely well," he said. "We have come through the worst, which was Sunday, overnight and first thing yesterday morning."

A spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies said that, although leaves were a concern, trouble had been avoided.

He said: "We have been taking a look at the network because there was a lot of nervousness over the weekend.

"The problem is out there but Network Rail's efforts over the weekend are paying off at the moment.

"We are expecting a couple more days of rather unsettled weather and the train companies all have emergency timetables if things go belly-up. It is not over yet, there are leaves still needing to be cleared."