Rail passengers across the North West and Midlands face continued disruption into Friday morning after a power failure at a communications centre in Manchester caused mass cancellations and delays on Thursday.
Power failure wreaks havoc
The electrical fault, reported at 2pm on August 6, knocked out signalling and affected services operated by Northern, Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, TransPennine Express, London Northwestern Railway, Lumo, and Transport for Wales.
Crowds gathered at Liverpool Lime Street station as services to Manchester Airport, Birmingham New Street, London Euston, Chester, Blackpool North, and other destinations were cancelled or delayed.
Northern's advice to passengers
Northern cancelled all trains into Manchester Victoria and between Preston, Bolton, Wigan, Liverpool, and Manchester. The operator now advises customers not to travel before 10am on Friday, August 7, and to check before travelling for journeys after that time.
In an email to passengers, Northern said: "Customers are strongly advised to avoid travelling before 10:00 on Friday morning if possible." Engineers continue to work to restore signalling in the Manchester area.
Continued disruption expected
Northern added: "We are hopeful that services will return to normal on Friday. However, because a number of trains are currently out of position as a result of today's disruption, services will also be affected tomorrow morning."
Passengers are advised to check journeys via National Rail Enquiries and to use rail replacement services where available. Ticket acceptance is in place on all Bee Network buses and Metrolink services across Greater Manchester.
Operators apologise
Chris Wright, Network Rail North West route director, said: "We’re sorry to passengers impacted by a power issues in Manchester which is causing significant delays to trains through the city. While some services are now running major disruption is expected for the rest of the day. Passengers with tickets can travel on any Bee Network services. I’d urge anyone planning to travel to check National Rail Enquiries for the latest information."
Andrew McClements, Customer Experience and Transformation Director for TPE, said: "We’re advising customers not to travel on any TransPennine Express services. This power outage has had a significant impact on services through Manchester and across our network, and major disruption is expected for the rest of the day. We’re sorry for the disruption and thank our customers for their patience."
