Direct train services from York to London, which were withdrawn because of a flood-hit track near Selby, are set to resume a week on Monday.

But Railtrack warned that GNER's high-speed trains would be limited to crawling pace for two to three months along the mile-and-a-half stretch at Heck until £5m improvements to the embankment have been completed.

A GNER spokesman said journey times from York to London would be about eight minutes longer.

The line was closed last week when floodwaters rose two metres up the em-bankment causing minor slippage. Since then passengers have been ferried from York to Doncaster in buses.

Engineers have been conducting geo-technical investigations to establish whether water has damaged the inside of the embankment, which could lead to a more serious landslip as the water re-cedes.

Railtrack project manager Steve Poole said train vibrations could potentially make the problem worse.

He said: "At this stage we don't think we are looking at a major reconstruction of the embankment.

"We are looking to construct a rock base along the bottom of the embankment and to re-grade the sides with stone.

"We don't want to take any chances."

The GNER spokesman said: "As soon as Railtrack give us the all clear, we will get trains running along the line again.

"The effects of the flooding are out of our hands, and we ask passengers to bear with us as we endeavour to offer the full-est service possible.

"We are providing as many trains as pos-sible as far as we can and bridging the gaps in the services with buses where possible."

GNER is employing a fleet of more than 50 buses to transport passengers from York to Doncaster while the work is tak-ing place.

An hourly train service is also operating from Leeds to London with more avail-able at peak times.