Major disruption in the Greater Manchester area / North West of England expected until the end of the day 

Route(s) affected

Trains in the Greater Manchester area / North West of England

Description

A failure of the electricity supply at a communications centre means trains across the Greater Manchester area and North West of England are being disrupted.

As a result, trains will be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

A visual disruption map video is available.

There are a number of different options available to help you complete your journey. Please check your whole journey using the National Rail Enquiries Journey Planner as some of the alternative routes listed below that you can use your ticket on may also be affected by this disruption.

Avanti West Coast customer advice:

Macclesfield will not be served.

Your ticket can be used at no extra cost in both directions on:

• CrossCountry between Birmingham New Street and Stoke-on-Trent

• London Northwestern Railway services between Crewe and London Euston

• Northern between Manchester Piccadilly and Crewe / Stoke-on-Trent

• Transport for Wales services between Manchester Piccadilly and Crewe

If your train is cancelled, your ticket is valid on one of the two Avanti West Coast services immediately before your booked train, or one of the two immediately after.

Off-Peak ticket restrictions have been relaxed during this ongoing disruption.

If you no longer wish to travel because your train is delayed or cancelled, you can request a full refund from where you bought your ticket

East Midlands Railway customer advice:

East Midlands Railway advise that you do NOT travel between Sheffield and Liverpool Lime Street.

Trains on the Liverpool Lime Street/ Nottingham/ Norwich routes are unable to run between Sheffield and Liverpool Lime Street until further notice.

Trains between Nottingham and Sheffield can continue to run in both directions.

This fault is no longer affecting services on the Crewe / Derby / Nottingham / Lincoln routes.

East Midlands Railway have also arranged some road transport. These buses will be added to the online journey planners:

• Buses departing Sheffield calling at Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly. These will depart Sheffield at 15:15 and 15:45

• Buses departing Manchester Piccadilly calling at Stockport and Sheffield. These will depart Manchester at 15:30, 15:45 and 17:00

You can use your ticket at no extra cost on:

• Avanti West Coast services between Liverpool and London Euston (These services also call at Crewe where you can change for services towards Nottingham)

• Greater Anglia services between Norwich and London Liverpool Street

These alternative route options are available in the opposite direction too.

If you have a ticket dated for travel today, Thursday 6 August and decide not to travel you may use your ticket to travel tomorrow, Friday 7 August instead.

London Northwestern Railway customer advice:

Rail replacement transport are en route to run between Hartford and Liverpool Lime Street.

Northern customer advice:

Northern advise that you do NOT travel.

Train services are unable to run on multiple lines of route in the North West

What should I do?

You can travel on the next Northern service to your destination, where available.

You can travel on the following train operators and routes at no extra cost:

• Transport for Greater Manchester bus services on any reasonable route

• Metrolink services on any reasonable route

Northern train ticket restrictions have been lifted in the affected areas, including Advance and Peak restrictions, during this disruption. Restrictions will be reinstated once the disruption ends.

TransPennine Express customer advice:

TransPennine Express advise that you do NOT travel.

You can use your ticket at no extra cost in both directions on:

• Bee Network buses throughout the whole network in Greater Manchester

• CrossCountry services between Sheffield, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh

• LNER services between Doncaster, Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh

• Metrolink services between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria/Manchester Airport

• Northern services between Sheffield and Doncaster/ Leeds

Transport for Wales customer advice:

Transport for Wales have organised buses to run between Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Piccadilly to help you complete your journey, at no extra cost. These will arrive at Warrington Bank Quay at approximately 15:00 provided by Mario's.

These arrangements are in place on services until 18:00.

Road Transport will take longer than rail services. Please allow extra time to complete your journey.

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

• Avanti West Coast between Manchester stations / Liverpool Lime Street and Crewe

• Merseyrail between Liverpool and Chester

• Metrolink services between Eccles and Manchester Airport via Manchester City Centre Zone 1 Tram Stops

Pay as you go

If you're using pay as you go, don't forget to tap out if you abandon your journey or use an alternative service or mode of transport.

Check services running in the area using the Transport for Wales live map.

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 drop-off 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.