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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Jacob Farr

East Lothian railway blocked as lorry plummets down embankment onto tracks

Emergency services have been scrambled to a lorry on a rail track after the truck smashed through a wall onto the line.

The incident happened at around 2.00pm on Thursday June 23 near Wallyford.

The large HGV can be seen lying on its side with debris surrounding it while other images appear to show a hole in the wall where the truck crashed through.

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The cabin of the lorry can also be seen lying across the tracks as the firefighters surround the destroyed wall.

Another image appears to show a person being helped to safety from the lorry while it was unclear if anyone was hurt in the collision.

Emergency services including the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Police Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service are in attendance.

Network Rail have said that they are working to clear the blockage and that they will have to examine the tracks for damage before the line can be reopened.

They tweeted: “Here's a photo of the scene at Wallyford. We're working with the emergency services to find the best way to recover the HGV. Once that's done, we'll then need to check for damage to the track and overhead line kit.”

It is understood that rail services travelling East towards Newcastle have been disrupted and that trains to London, York and Doncaster will be leaving from Dunbar following the emergency event.

The managing director of LNER released a statement of Twitter at 3:23pm which read: “Due to this Heavy Goods Vehicle coming onto the railway 9 miles east of Edinburgh, we will not be running any train services between Edinburgh and Newcastle for the rest of today. My apologies if you are affected by this disruption.”

An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “East Lothian Council is aware of an ongoing incident at the Wallyford roundabout (near park and ride).

“Traffic in the area is busy. Local diversions are being put in place but avoiding the area is advised if possible.”

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "We are working closely with the emergency services following an incident involving a heavy goods vehicle coming through the railway boundary and on to the track near to Wallyford roundabout in Musselburgh. Specialist engineers are on-site to recover the vehicle and assess the railway infrastructure for damage. All services on the East Coast Main Line between Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed have been suspended for the rest of the day.”

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