National Rail has warned of 'major rail disruption' in the Greater Manchester area, the Midlands and North West of England due to an electrical failure at a communications centre. Trains have been cancelled, delayed by up to an hour, or rescheduled, with the disruption expected to last until the end of the day.
Affected operators
Services on Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, TransPennine Express, and Transport for Wales are affected. National Rail's website notes that other train operators may also be affected, advising passengers to check their whole journey before travelling.
Advice for passengers
Northern and TransPennine Express have advised customers: "Do not travel." Northern customers can use their tickets at no extra cost on Transport for Greater Manchester bus services and Metrolink services on any reasonable route, with ticket restrictions lifted in affected areas. TransPennine Express customers can use their tickets on Bee Network buses, CrossCountry services between Sheffield, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh, LNER services between Doncaster, Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh, Metrolink services between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria/Manchester Airport, and Northern services between Sheffield and Doncaster/Leeds.
East Midlands Railway updates
East Midlands Railway has advised that trains on the Liverpool Lime Street/Nottingham/Norwich routes are not running between Sheffield and Liverpool Lime Street, while trains between Nottingham and Sheffield continue to run. The fault is no longer affecting services on the Crewe/Derby/Nottingham/Lincoln routes. Customers can use their tickets on Avanti West Coast services between Liverpool and London Euston, which also call at Crewe.
Avanti West Coast information
Avanti West Coast has advised that Macclesfield is not being served during the disruption. Customers with cancelled services can travel on one of the two Avanti West Coast services immediately before or after their booked train. Off-Peak ticket restrictions have been relaxed, and customers who no longer wish to travel can request a full refund from the retailer where the ticket was purchased.
