Tyne and Wear Metro suspended after Sunderland line reopens

South Hylton Metro station had been affected

Train services which were suspended just hours after a railway line reopened have resumed.

The Tyne and Wear Metro had been unable to stop at four Sunderland stations since mid-November due to a "serious fault".

Shortly after the line reopened on Friday, trains were halted again when a plastic bag became wrapped around the overhead cables.

Services between Park Lane and South Hylton restarted at about 10:50 GMT.

Metro operator Nexus said the "large plastic bag" had become entangled in live cables, causing damage to a train's pantograph and prompting the suspension.

"This was not connected to the rebuild of Pallion substation by Network Rail, which is complete," a Nexus spokesperson said.

"This issue with the overhead line has now been rectified and services are back to normal on the Sunderland line, with trains operating every 12 minutes."

Rail replacement buses had been operating

Trains between Park Lane, University, Millfield and South Hylton had already been affected by an unplanned eight-week line closure.

The substation at Pallion, which provides power to overhead lines, had been left damaged after flooding caused a fire.

At the time, shop owners and commuters in South Hylton said they felt "forgotten about" and "cut off".

Nexus previously said it was "just as frustrated as our customers" as it waited for the repairs to be completed.

Network Rail, which owns the track, apologised and said trains would be restored by mid-January.

Paul Rutter, East Coast route director, said: "Our teams have been working to rebuild the electrical substation in Pallion after it was badly damaged by flooding in November."