A POWER failure brought yet more disruption to the rail network in the North-East last night.

Darlington's Bank Top station was plunged into darkness at 3.30pm. British Transport Police were forced to clear the station of passengers and staff.

Although no trains were affected by the failure, the cause of which was being investigated last night, they had to travel through without stopping.

GNER, which runs the station, said the power cut was beyond its control, but it was running buses for people travelling either to or from Darlington.

The trouble came as details emerged of further disruption for passengers on the East Coast Main Line, as a result of major engineering work following the Hatfield crash.

Railtrack is to replace more than seven miles of track between Durham and Darlington, after tests found it was in danger of cracking.

The move means diversions will be in operation from 11pm tomorrow to 4pm on Sunday. Details on train journeys are available from 08457 48 49 50