Lines reopened: disruption between St Helens Central and Wigan North Western expected until 11:30 

Route(s) affected

Northern between Liverpool Lime Street and Wigan North Western / Blackpool North

TransPennine Express between Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow Central

Description

Lines have now reopened following a vehicle striking a bridge between St Helens Central and Wigan North Western. However, whilst service recovers, trains running between these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 10 minutes or revised.

Disruption is expected until 11:30.

Northern customer advice:

How does this affect my journey?

Train services are able to run between St Helens Central and Wigan North Western (in both directions).

Northern services between Blackpool North / Preston and Wigan North Western are not affected.

What should I do?

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

You can also travel on Merseyrail services at no extra cost between Ormskirk / Southport and Liverpool.

Please note that other train operators may also be affected by disruption – please check your whole journey before travelling.

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.

Road transport

To assist customers to complete their journey, road replacement transport will be provided as follows:

• A coach operated by Atlantic Travel will depart Wigan North Western at 09:50 calling at stations to Huyton

• A coach operated by Bestway will depart Huyton at 10:15 calling at stations to Wigan North Western

Please check station information posters for the location of the bus pick up points and be advised that bicycles, e-bikes and dogs (excluding service dogs) are not permitted on replacement road transport. Journey times will be extended by up to 60 minutes when using road replacement transport.

TransPennine Express customer advice:

If you are travelling from Liverpool Lime Street to Preston and stations towards Glasgow Central, you can use your ticket at no extra cost on the following (in both directions):

• TransPennine Express services from Liverpool Lime Street towards Manchester Oxford Road

• TransPennine Express services from Manchester Oxford Road towards Glasgow Central / Edinburgh

• Avanti West Coast services between Preston and Glasgow Central

If you are travelling to / from St Helens Central and Wigan North Western. Please see a member of station staff or access a platform help point for onward travel advice.

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.