THE Government is under pressure to deliver on its promise of ending the scandal of Britain's crumbling railway bridges.

This week, as beleaguered Railtrack finally reached the end of the line, experts demanded that Prime Minister Tony Blair did not forget his pledge to halt the squabbling which has previously hindered vital repair work.

Earlier this year, Mr Blair told The Northern Echo exclusively that he would intervene in the row, which has long been running between local authorities, the Highways Agency and Railtrack.

Now, with Railtrack removed from administration and taken over by the non-profit making Network Rail, the way has been paved for a £21bn cash injection for Britain's railways.

But safety campaigners this week stressed the necessity of keeping the issue in the public eye, if a repeat of the Selby rail disaster was to be avoided.

The tragedy occurred when a Land Rover veered off the M62 and into the path of an oncoming express train at Great Heck, North Yorkshire.

Structural engineer John Knapton, visiting professor at the University of Ulster, said: "The big issue is now whether the records of who is liable for bridges get lost in this re-organisation.

"There is always the danger that they could want to sit down, form new committees and start the whole process of deciding who is responsible all over again.

"But the good news is that Network Rail will have their eyes on providing a good service, rather than profits."

The "who pays for what" dispute has held up improvements to bridges throughout the North-East and North Yorkshire, as uncertainty over Railtrack's future meant it made little or no contributions to repairs.

Many councils have funded urgent work themselves, despite bridges in their area being owned by Railtrack.

The Northern Echo exposed the scandalous state of the region's railway bridges last year, in the wake of the Selby crash.

We visited 50 bridges on the East Coast Main Line, between Newcastle and York, and found the majority to have inadequate barriers to prevent drivers from crashing on to the tracks.

Read more about the Railway brides scandal here.