A sleeper service between the north of Scotland and London has been suspended until Friday following a freight train derailment.

Diversions to avoid the West Coast Main Line derailment near Gretna in Dumfries and Galloway caused delays of up to four hours to Monday night's sleepers.

Operator ScotRail said it has decided to suspend its Highlander sleeper service linking Aberdeen, Inverness, Fort William and London Euston until Friday while work on fixing the line continues.

Passengers face longer journey times

The company said no new bookings would be taken and it would be contacting passengers who have made reservations to offer them a full refund or an alternative daytime journey.

However, the Glasgow to London Lowlander sleeper service will continue to operate and there will be a seating only service from Edinburgh to London.

Freight operator English, Welsh and Scottish Railways (EWS) and Railtrack said the line north of Carlisle was unlikely to reopen until the weekend at the earliest.

Timber wagons left the track at Quintinshill, near Gretna at 0907 BST on Monday.

The driver was not injured in the collision and nobody else was on board the train at the time.

EWS said it had identified the likely cause of the derailment and would carry out checks on similar timber wagons as a precautionary measure.

Refund offered

Virgin Trains, which runs passenger services on the West Coast line, said the line north of Carlisle has been affected leading to disruption on cross-border services.

Northbound trains have been terminating at Carlisle and shuttle trains and buses have been laid on.

A Virgin spokesman said: "People will still be able to get through but will need to add a couple of hours to their journey times.

"If passengers want to travel on another date they can do so and get a refund."

Passengers travelling from Glasgow to London have been recommended to use the GNER service along the east coast where their Virgin tickets will be valid.

EWS and Railtrack said "early indications" were that an axle bearing failed on the leading axle of the first wagon of the freight train.