Lines reopened: major disruption between Liverpool Lime Street and St Helens Central / Lea Green expected until the end of the day 

Route(s) affected

Northern services between Liverpool Lime Street and Blackpool North / Ellesmere Port / Manchester Airport / Manchester Victoria / Preston / Wigan North Western / Wilmslow

TransPennine Express services between Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh / Glasgow Central / Huddersfield / Hull / Manchester Victoria / Newcastle / Oxenholme Lake District

Description

Lines have reopened between Liverpool Lime Street and St Helens Central / Lea Green as the emergency services are now safely clear of the line. Trains may continue to be delayed by 60 minutes or cancelled.

Major disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Northern customer advice:

The following service alterations will apply:

• Liverpool Lime Street to Wigan North Western - will be cancelled

• Wigan North Western to Liverpool Lime Street - will be able to call at all stations however are subject to short notice delays and cancellations due to this issue

• Blackpool North to Liverpool Lime Street - will be able to call at all stations however are subject to short notice delays and cancellations due to this issue

• Liverpool Lime Street to Blackpool North - where possible, will start at Wigan North Western and call at stations to Blackpool North

• Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Airport - will be cancelled

• Manchester Airport to Liverpool Lime Street - will be able to call at all stations however are subject to short notice delays and cancellations due to this issue

Tickets will be accepted on Merseyrail services via any reasonable route, at no extra cost.

Northern customers travelling between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester stations are advised to board alternative Northern services that call at stations via Warrington Central that are not affected by this issue.

Rail replacement transport:

To assist customers to complete their journey, road transport has been provided as follows -

• 21:00, 22:00 Liverpool Lime Street calling at all stations to Wigan North Western

• 21:00, 22:00 Wigan North Western calling at all stations to Liverpool Lime Street

• 21:30, 22:00 Liverpool Lime Street calling at all stations to Manchester Piccadilly via Earlestown

• 21:00, 22:00 Manchester Piccadilly calling at all stations to Liverpool Lime Street via Earlestown

Journey times will be extended by 60 minutes whilst travelling by Rail replacement transport.

TransPennine Express customer advice:

You can use your ticket at no extra cost and travel on the following services:

• CrossCountry services between Leeds / York and Newcastle

• East Midlands Railway services between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly

• LNER services between York and Newcastle

• Northern services between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly

• Northern services between Sheffield and Hull

• TransPennine Express services between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly, also between Manchester Piccadilly and Huddersfield / York

Rail replacement transport has been requested to operate between Liverpool Lime Street and Lea Green / Newton-le-Willows / Manchester Victoria in both directions. Please see station staff for more information.

Check before you travel:

You can check your journey using the National Rail Enquiries real-time Journey Planner.

For helpful advice if you need to travel on a rail replacement service, including accessibility and bicycle information, please use our Rail Replacement Services page.

You can find the pick-up and set-down location of rail replacement services by checking station signage or by searching for your station on our Find a Station page.

Please be advised that replacement vehicles may be busier than usual, and you should allow extra time for your journey.

Compensation:

You may be entitled to compensation if you experience a delay in completing your journey today. Please keep your train ticket and make a note of your journey, as both will be required to support any claim.