National Rail has warned of "major rail disruption" across Greater Manchester, the Midlands and the North West of England, with trains cancelled, rescheduled or delayed by up to an hour.
The disruption has been caused by an electrical failure at a communications centre. Services on Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, TransPennine Express, and Transport for Wales are affected. The disruption is expected to last until the end of the day, National Rail added.
Which rail companies are impacted?
National Rail has said the following rail companies are impacted: Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, TransPennine Express, and Transport for Wales. A notice on National Rail's website adds: "Please note that other train operators may also be affected by disruption - please check your whole journey before travelling."
Advice for East Midlands Railway customers
East Midlands Railway has provided the following travel advice: Trains on the Liverpool Lime Street/ Nottingham/ Norwich routes are not running between Sheffield and Liverpool Lime Street. Trains between Nottingham and Sheffield continue to run in both directions. 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. These services also call at Crewe, where you can change for services towards Nottingham.
Avanti West Coast: Macclesfield not served
Avanti West Coast has advised that Macclesfield is not being served due to the ongoing 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 during the disruption. Customers who no longer wish to travel due to a delay or cancellation can request a full refund from the retailer where the ticket was purchased.
Northern and TransPennine Express customers told not to travel
Northern and TransPennine Express have advised customers: "Do not travel." Northern customers can use their tickets at no extra cost on the following services: Transport for Greater Manchester bus services on any reasonable route, and Metrolink services on any reasonable route. Northern ticket restrictions have been lifted in the affected areas for the duration of the disruption, including Advance and Peak restrictions.
TransPennine Express customers can use their tickets at no extra cost in both directions on: Bee Network buses throughout the whole network in Greater Manchester, 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.
