A RAILWAY company is investigating claims that a train driver chatted on his mobile phone while he was at the controls of a moving commuter service.

The inquiry started after a concerned Tyne and Wear Metro service passenger made a complaint.

Train operator Nexus said yesterday it would review closed-circuit television footage and logs, and pledged that disciplinary action would be taken if the claims were true.

The alleged safety breach took place as the train, which can travel up to 50mph, pulled into the Meadow Well station on the Newcastle - North Tyneside loop.

A Nexus spokesman said the incident was alleged to have happened on Monday evening.

Metro drivers are allowed to contact system controllers when trains are stationary at platforms but must not be distracted while services are moving.

A Nexus spokesman said: "Our drivers can contact the Control Centre via mobile phones when they are stationary at platforms. That is a standard working procedure and we employ it on a regular basis.

"They cannot use mobile phones while driving and we would take a very dim view of that, if a corroborative witness verified that fact, and it would almost certainly lead to disciplinary action.

''In this instance we thank the customer for contacting us and will look into the matter, examining CCTV footage and logs to ascertain whether the chain of events is as stated."