Major rail disruption across swathes of UK after power failure

Passengers are being told not to travel as cancellations and delays continue into the evening

Author: Owen ArandsPublished 7 hours ago
Last updated 5 hours ago

Rail passengers across the country are facing major disruption after a power failure at Manchester Piccadilly.

According to National Rail Enquiries, the fault was reported at 2:03pm on Thursday and is affecting trains run by several operators.

Disruption is expected to continue until the end of the day.

What's happening

Trains are being cancelled, delayed by up to sixty minutes, or revised as a result of the fault.

Northern and TransPennine Express are advising passengers not to travel at all, saying services are unable to run on multiple routes across the North West.

Avanti West Coast has confirmed Macclesfield will not be served while the disruption continues.

East Midlands Railway said trains on the Liverpool Lime Street, Nottingham and Norwich routes cannot currently run between Sheffield and Liverpool Lime Street.

Which operators are affected

The disruption is affecting Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales.

A reduced service is also in place between Newport and Cardiff Central.

What passengers can do

Passengers whose Northern or TransPennine Express trains are affected can use their tickets at no extra cost on Bee Network buses and Metrolink services across Greater Manchester.

Transport for Wales has arranged replacement buses between Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Piccadilly until 6pm.

Ticket restrictions have been relaxed across several operators while the disruption continues.

National Rail Enquiries is advising anyone travelling to check their whole journey before setting off, and says passengers may be entitled to compensation if their journey is delayed.

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