Major rail disruption as power fault sees trains cancelled across England

Rail chaos has been reported across the Midlands and the North of England. National Rail said the major disruption, which has caused huge delays to passenger’s journeys, was due to an electrical failure at a communications centre. Trains across Greater Manchester, the Midlands and the North West are set to be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or rescheduled, the group which represents passenger train operating companies said. It is understood the five rail companies affected include Avanti West Coast, East Midlands, Northern, TransPennine Express, and Transport for Wales. Northern and Transpennine Express have advised customers not to travel, while National Rail said the disruption could spread to connecting routes as hubs like Birmingham New Street and Manchester Piccadilly serve lines that connect to wider areas of the UK. The disruption was caused by a fault with the signalling system near Manchester Piccadilly railway station, CrossCountry Trains said in a social media post. Disruption is expected to continue until the end of the day for most areas, although some could remain impacted on Saturday morning. A National Rail spokesperson said: “This is expected to cause major disruption until the end of the day. “If you’re travelling Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern, Northern, TransPennine Express or Transport for Wales in the affected area your train may be cancelled, delayed, or revised. “Please allow extra time to make your journey this afternoon as you may need to use an alternative route or change trains part-way through to reach your destination.”TransPennine Express said: “All trains will be stopped due to a failure of the communication systems on the network. Trains are unable to run safely”. The company explained services across its entire network will be cancelled and delayed, and no replacement buses are operating It also “strongly advised” its customers to cancel their journeys, saying: “Due to the power supply issue affecting the network. We are advising customer against travelling today”. Services in the Greater Manchester area, the Midlands and North West England are being affected by the breakdown.National Rail first reported the disruption shortly after 2pm. Services across large parts of the country have been affected by the power failure (Photo: National Rail) The electrical failure at Network Rail’s Manchester Rail Operating Centre occurred just before 14:00 BST, according to Transport for Greater Manchester. Complicating matters was the discovery of an unexploded bomb from World War Two between Tamworth, north of Birmingham, and Burton-on-Trent. Bomb disposal police were able to safely detonate the device just before 6pm, but not before nearby roads were closed and some locals evacuated from their homes. One passenger complained on X they were on a train to Blackpool and were stuck at Bradford Interchange station with their disabled partner and autistic son who they feared may have a “meltdown”.They also shared how they had been told they would be travelling to Hebden Bridge and “may be stranded there”. One passenger, travelling from London Euston to Liverpool, told Sky News they were stuck at Acton Bridge for an hour and a half and no food was available for customers. A commuter in Wales travelling with her 78-year-old mother said she was forced to book an expensive Uber to get to her destination after being unable to speak to station staff for assistance. Disruption is expected tomorrow between Newport in south Wales and Cardiff Central, where it will extend until at least the end of tomorrow, National Rail announced. Network Rail has warned there could be further disruption tomorrow in other areas because many trains and their crews are not where they would normally be after the unexpected outage. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, said she was “sorry” to hear passengers have been affected and urged people to check timetables before they travel. The Swindon South MP added she is “receiving regular updates” while Network Rail works to resolve what she described as a “power outage”. Chris Wright, Network Rail’s North West route director, said: “I’m extremely sorry for the disruption today and the very difficult journeys many people have experienced. Our engineers are working tirelessly to restore the signalling systems impacted by the power cut at lunchtime”. An electrical fault at Manchester Piccadilly also halted trains in April. An extended 12-hour closure of the railway was needed for repairs because of the “complex area where this took place, with over 400 metres of damaged lines”, National Rail said at the time.