Passengers faced severe disruption at Manchester Piccadilly station after a tree fell onto overhead wires, causing a series of explosions and bringing train services to a standstill across northern England. The incident occurred as Storm Elin swept through the region, bringing heavy rain and strong winds.
Two platforms at the station were put out of action, with services on platforms 13 and 14 cancelled or revised. Engineers from Network Rail were on site assessing the damage and working to restore services. A Northern Rail spokesman advised passengers not to travel where possible due to multiple weather-related incidents and limited replacement road transport.
Frustrated travellers were forced to spend the night in the station, pay for expensive taxis, or find hotel accommodation. One angry passenger said: "Currently stuck in Manchester thanks to a last minute cancelled train. Only replacement available was a two carriage train at 22:00 that you couldn’t get another person on if they grabbed onto the roof. So I’ll be sleeping in the station tonight."
The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for rain, with up to 30mm expected overnight in parts of northwest England, including Greater Manchester and Lancashire. The Environment Agency issued 43 flood alerts for England, with flooding expected along the River Ouse at York. Additional warnings were in place for Northern Ireland and parts of southern Scotland until 9pm.
Elsewhere, emergency services responded to reports of a car in a canal in Bradford, and another vehicle was struck by a falling tree in Tameside, Greater Manchester. The disruption is expected to continue until repairs are completed.
