YORK'S rail link to London, severed by flooding and a landslip, returned today.

The move was described by train operator GNER as the "first step on the road back to normality".

Spokesman Alan Hyde said the fleet of buses ferrying frustrated passengers between York and Doncaster could now be replaced by trains.

But disruption will continue as passengers making the journey south must still change at Doncaster today due to a time-tabling problem.

GNER's through services between London and Edinburgh will not resume until tomorrow.

It was originally feared the one-and-a-half mile stretch of track at Heck, near Selby, would be closed for several weeks after floodwater from the River Aire covering an area the size of Lake Windermere de-stabilised the raised embankment.

Railtrack engineers worked around the clock to re-open the line - but a 20mph limit will remain for at least three months as a £5m reinforcement of the embankment takes place.

More than 200,000 tonnes of soil and aggregate was needed to temporarily rebuild the collapsed embankment, which poured more than 5ft of mud and water on to the rails and created what Railtrack described as a "trifle".

About 100 speed restrictions still apply on sections of track used by GNER, doubling the journey time from York to the capital to more than four hours.

Spokesman Mr Hyde said: "Our staff have been working hard to provide as robust a service as possible in the face of this adversity. The work they have put in cannot be underestimated and the continued patience of passengers is appreciated."

He added that Railtrack was providing some information about when speed restrictions would be lifted but it would be "some time in the New Year" before services returned to pre-Hatfield levels.

Hourly services are in operation between Doncaster and Edinburgh, calling at York, and three daily direct train services will be running between York and Aberdeen.

The line at Hatfield has now re-opened during weekdays, but the diversionary route, via Hertford, will be used at weekends while Railtrack completes track work.

dan.rutstein@ycp.co.uk