TRAIN operator LNER is once again advising passengers not to travel on the East Coast Main Line today following major disruption to services yesterday.

If they do decide to travel, it says, they should check before they set off to see if their train is running.

Some of LNER’s Azuma trains, which were withdrawn from service yesterday by manufacturer Hitachi for precautionary checks after cracks were found under the lifting carriage of some Class 800 trains, have been cleared and returned to service.

But the company says there will, nevertheless, be a reduced service today.

“Because of this, we're advising customers not to travel today,” an LNER spokesperson said.

But with some trains now operating, many passengers were confused this morning – and took to Twitter to express their anger.

“@LNER – not useful when our plans were made yesterday and we are now trying to get home,” tweeted one passenger.

“I am booked in the 12.01 Darlington to London KX which the website also says is on time. Is it?” asked a second.

“Will this be ongoing into next week? My daughter travels from York to KX every Friday to her uni lectures and cannot miss them!” added a third.  

LNER says any passengers who do travel must have a reservation. It says tickets bought yesterday or today will be valid for travel until next Sunday.

“If you're not able to travel between Monday 10 May and Sunday 16 May, you'll be entitled to a refund,” an LNER travel alert says.

Rail passengers' plans were thrown into chaos yesterday by the cancellation of many high speed services.

The problems were caused by Hitachi taking some Class 800 passenger trains out of service to carry out precautionary checks.

Hitachi said inspections had 'identified tracks in the lifting points under the carriages of some Class 800 trains'.

It added: "Safety is our number one priority and as a precaution, the decision was taken to halt the entry into service of our intercity fleet, pending inspection."

The disruption affected Hitachi Class 800 trains operated by LNER, TransPennine Express, Hull Trains and GWR, which runs the Great Western Main Line between Bristol and Paddington.

Some high speed train services through York began to resume yesterday afternoon – but operators warned services would continue to be disrupted at least for the rest of the day, and possibly today as well.

Hitachi has apologised for the disruption.

"We understand the frustration caused and we would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused to passengers and operators," the manufacturer said in a statement.

"Having been cleared for service, some trains are now running again across the network.

"We are working as quickly and safely as possible to investigate the issue across the remainder of the fleets."