Is that the Tyne Dock line, then..?
CHAOS FOR THOUSANDS AS TWO MAINS BURST
RAIL lines resemble rivers after two burst water mains caused chaos for tens of thousands, flooding homes, closing a school and wreaking havoc on the transport network.
Families near Jesmond Dene Road in Newcastle woke yesterday morning to find streets around their homes flooded as thousands of litres of water from a broken pipe swept through the area.
Metros were cancelled for more than 12 hours following the burst, which began at around 5am, which left lengthy stretches of the track submerged while closed roads led to traffic being backed up around the city.
Newcastle City Council closed three roads, including Jesmond Dene Road from Osborne Road and Moorfield, Moorfield between Osborne Road and Honister Avenue, Ilford Road between Moorfield and Osborne Road with commuters warned closures would be in place until this morning.
But by 5.45pm last night the track near Ilford Road Metro Station reopened.
A Nexus spokesperson said: “Metro services resumed at 5.45pm between South Gosforth and Jesmond.
“The line had previously been closed due to a burst water main which created flooding on the track at Ilford Road.
“Engineers worked on site all day with the fire service to get the water pumped from the track, which was inspected and given the green light to reopen.”
Families watched in disbelief as they woke to find their homes, gardens and streets under water.
Once the flow was stemmed, street sweepers were out in force after the floods left the suburb covered in muck and grime.
Helen Walker, who lives on Towers Avenue, Jesmond, woke up to find her garden submerged.
A nurse at the nearby Freeman Hospital, she said: “I’ve lived here for 29 years and I’ve never seen anything like this before. My alarm went off at 5.30am and as I was waking up I heard the doorbell.
“I got up and it was a friend of mine to tell me what had happened. Then I saw all of this.
“The first thing I saw was the garden, it was completely underwater. Then I realised it was also in the conservatory and it’s seeping through the house.
“A fireman came and looked in the garage and it was flooded too. The water was running under the house.”
The 57-year-old added: “When I first saw it I was shocked but it could have been a lot worse. There’s nothing you can do about it.
“Everybody is doing everything they can do you’ve just got to wait until it’s sorted. There’s more to life.”
But while Jesmond was flooded, Byker, further to the east in the city, suffered a drought.
A second burst water main on Heaton Road caused misery for hundreds, leaving around 1,500 people without water.
Northumbrian Water was forced to hand out bottles of water to residents who were unable to flush their toilets, have a shower or run a tape.
St Lawrence’s RC Primary School, in Byker, was also forced to close for the day.
Viv Hall, 73, who lives in the Byker Wall estate, said: “Ours has been off since 7am. I went to the toilet and realised it would not flush.
“It’s terrible not having water, absolutely terrible.
“We cannot have a shower, we can’t do anything.
“If we want to go to the toilet we have to take water from the tank and pour that down.”
Northumbrian Water said the Heaton Road burst had been repaired by yesterday evening and temporary traffic management was expected to have been removed in time for Thursday’s rush hour.
A spokesman said: “Repairs to the burst in Jesmond Dene Road are ongoing.
“We will be working through the night to reinstate the carriageway in the anticipation of re-opening the road at some point on Thursday, however, people should expect the road to remain closed and diversions in place this evening and during the morning’s rush hour.”