Rail passengers are facing travel chaos for a second day after a widespread power failure affecting a large section of the UK’s rail network continues to cancel and delay services.
Passengers in Greater Manchester, the Midlands, and the northwest of England face severe delays, alongside numerous cancellations.
Delays and cancellations are expected until midday on Friday, with passengers advised to check National Rail Enquiries and operators’ websites for updates.
open image in galleryThe train line operators currently experiencing disruption include:
- East Midlands Railway
- Northern
- TransPennine Express
- Transport for Wales
Travellers for all operators are advised that they are able to use their ticket dated 6 August on any valid route on Friday.
National Rail said: “There was a failure of the electricity supply at a communications centre yesterday afternoon that caused severe disruption to trains across the Greater Manchester area and the north west of England.
“Although trains are now able to operate, the severity of the disruption that occurred on the network yesterday means that a number of trains and crew are now in the wrong locations for the start of service today.”
Electricity distribution company SP Electricity North West’s website states that a power cut in Harpurhey, which is north-east of the city centre, affected more than 400 postcodes, including that of the Manchester Rail Operating Centre.
It said: “The power cut in your area caused by an unexpected incident on our high voltage cable has now been resolved.”
open image in galleryManchester’s Bee Network continues to accept tickets from affected rail passengers during the second day of disruption. Rail ticket acceptance is in place across all Metrolink lines and Bee Network bus services in Greater Manchester.
Chris Wright, Network Rail’s North West route director, said: “I’d like to thank passengers for their patience following yesterday’s power outage and the disruption it caused across the North West.
“Our engineers worked through the night to restore signalling systems and recover the railway, and I’m pleased that most services are now running this morning.
“While some passengers may still experience disruption, we’re continuing to work closely with train operators to return services to normal as quickly as possible.”
Further major disruption was announced in Wales on Friday, as a fire on the track near Cardiff affects signalling and overhead electricity power.
Any passengers planning to travel with CrossCountry, Great Western Railway and Transport for Wales on a route between these stations can expect severe delays or cancellations until the end of the day, National Rail has said.