Major disruption in the Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent area expected until the end of the day 

Route(s) affected

Avanti West Coast services between London Euston and Chester / Edinburgh / Glasgow Central / Holyhead / Liverpool Lime Street / Manchester Piccadilly

CrossCountry services between Birmingham New Street / Bournemouth / Bristol Temple Meads / Paignton and Manchester Piccadilly

East Midlands Railway services between Newark Castle / Nottingham and Crewe

London Northwestern Railway services between Birmingham New Street and Liverpool Lime Street, between London Euston / Stafford and Crewe

Northern services between Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester Piccadilly

Description

There has been a major fault with the signalling system in the Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent area. Some lines have reopened but services remain heavily disrupted.

Trains on the following routes may be cancelled, delayed by up to 90 minutes or revised:

• between Stafford and Crewe

• between Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent

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

Network Rail are on site and are working to resolve the issue.

Major disruption is expected until the end of the day.

A visual disruption map video is now available.

Avanti West Coast customer advice:

Avanti West Coast are advising that their customers do not travel on all routes between London and Manchester / Liverpool / Holyhead and Preston.

Tickets dated for today, 21 November, can be used on Avanti West Coast services tomorrow (22 November).

Your ticket can be used, at no extra cost, on the following services (in both directions):

• Chiltern Railways between London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street

• CrossCountry between Birmingham New Street and Edinburgh

• East Midlands Railway services between:

  • London St Pancras International and Sheffield

  • Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly / Liverpool Lime Street

• Great Western Railway services between London Paddington and Newport (South Wales)

• LNER services between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh

• London Northwestern Railway between London Euston and Birmingham New Street

• Merseyrail between Chester and Liverpool Lime Street

• Northern services between:

  • Leeds and Blackpool North via Preston

  • Manchester Piccadilly and Liverpool Lime Street via Preston

• ScotRail between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh

• Transport for Wales services between:

  • Birmingham New Street and Crewe

  • Chester and Manchester Piccadilly

  • Crewe and Chester

  • Liverpool Lime Street and Newcastle

  • Newport (South Wales) and Shrewsbury

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

CrossCountry customer advice:

Your ticket can be used, at no extra cost, on the following services:

• The two CrossCountry services operating before and after your cancelled service

• London Northwestern Railway services between Birmingham New Street and Crewe

• Northern services between Manchester Piccadilly and Macclesfield / Sheffield

• TransPennine Express services between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield

If you decide to travel from a different station due to this disruption and need to return to that station later, you will also be able to use your existing ticket to do this at no extra cost

Unfortunately, any seat reservations will not be carried over to another train, but Coach B, H and L are the unreserved coaches on CrossCountry services (where available) so please head to them.

East Midlands Railway customer advice:

Trains are unable to run between Stoke-on-Trent and Crewe.

East Midlands Railway have replacement road transport in operation, please speak to a member of staff for more information.

Journey times will be increased by 60 minutes when travelling via rail replacement transport.

London Northwestern Railway customer advice:

Your ticket can be used at no extra cost on rail replacement buses between the following stations in both directions until further notice:

• Rugby and Crewe

• Nuneaton and Crewe

• Stafford and Crewe

• Wolverhampton and Crewe

• Lichfield Trent Valley and Stafford via Rugeley Trent Valley

Your ticket can also be used at no extra cost on East Midlands Railway between London St Pancras International and Derby via Tamworth.

Northern customer advice:

Services may be revised to start / terminate at Macclesfield. All stations between Macclesfield and Stoke-on-Trent will not be served.

The following rail replacement transport has been sourced:

• 1 x Carolean Coach will depart Stoke-on-Trent at 15:55 and 16:55, calling at all stops to Manchester Piccadilly

• 1 x Sky Coaches will depart Macclesfield at 15:45, calling at all stops to Stoke-on-Trent

Please see station information posters for the location of the bus pick up points and be advertised journey times will be extended by up to 45 minutes when using road transport.

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.

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.