RAIL passengers reeling from delays and cancelled services due to the floods and safety work were told yesterday that the chaos could continue until Easter.

Railtrack chief executive Gerald Corbett has confessed that vital safety repair work would carry on for the next six months as the beleaguered firm battled to restore confidence in the railways.

The news came as widespread flooding in North Yorkshire reduced the East Coast Mainline to a skeleton service.

All services between York and Newcastle have been cancelled and replaced by a very limited bus service.

It was also revealed that train company Connex, which recently became the first operator to lose a franchise, has been shortlisted for the new TransPennine Express franchise in the North.

Railtrack's admission that the depth of the rail repairs problem was greater than first anticipated will bring further misery to train users who were originally told services would be back to normal by December.

It has promised to step up efforts to implement widespread safety work over the coming weekends.

Checks made since the Hatfield crash have shown that 170 miles of track need to be re-railed. About 50 miles of track in the London to North-Eastern zone, including the East Coast Mainline, are due for replacement.

Mr Corbett said engineering work would normally progress at 20 miles of new track a weekend but foul weather conditions slowed re-laying to 16 miles last weekend.

The Rail Passengers Committee North-East England said last night that widespread delays were inevitable if a top-class service was wanted.

A spokesperson said: "We all want a fast, efficient, reliable railway. The only way you can get that is if the work is done."

He accused the Tory Government of creating "cheap and cheerful" franchises when British Rail was privatised.

"The contracts left little margins for any improvement to the services. With reducing subsidies it was a recipe for disaster," he said.