Major disruption in the Wigan North Western area expected until 16:00 

Route(s) affected

Avanti West Coast between London Euston and Blackpool North / Glasgow Central / Edinburgh

Northern between Liverpool Lime Street and Wigan North Western / Blackpool North, and between Blackburn and Rainford, and between Wigan Wallgate and Leeds, and between Southport and Manchester Oxford Road

TransPennine Express between Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow Central

Description

A fault with the signalling system in the Wigan North Western area means all lines are blocked. As a result, trains may be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or diverted.

Major disruption is expected until 16:00.

Avanti West Coast customer advice:

Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western will not be served.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.

You can use your ticket at no extra cost on:

• TransPennine Express between Warrington Central and Manchester Piccadilly in both directions

• East Midlands Railway between Warrington Central & Manchester Piccadilly and in both directions

• Northern Trains between Warrington Central & Manchester Piccadilly in both directions

• Northern Trains between Preston and Manchester Piccadilly in both directions

• Northern Trains between Wigan Wallgate and Manchester Victoria in both directions

• Cross Country between Birmingham New Street and Edinburgh in both directions

• LNER services between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh in both directions

Northern customer advice:

Its advised to avoid travelling on routes to and from Wigan stations until further notice.

Train services are unable to run to/from both Wigan Wallgate and Wigan North Western.

This will directly impact the following routes:

• Liverpool Lime Street to Wigan North Western/Blackpool North

• Southport to Manchester Oxford Road / Stalybridge

• Headbolt Lane to Blackburn

• Wigan Wallgate to Leeds

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

• Alternative Northern services

• Merseyrail services via any reasonable route until further notice.

• TransPennine Express services from Manchester stations to Leeds / Stalybridge (in both directions)

• Avanti West Coast services via any reasonable route

• Transport for Wales services via any reasonable route

• Bee Network routes listed below:

  • Wigan to Leigh on 608, 609, and 610 then Leigh to Manchester on V1 and 35

  • Wigan to Bolton 582 then Bolton to Manchester 36, 37, and 8

  • Wigan to East Lance Road on 132, then V1 service

Customers at Blackpool and Liverpool who require travel between these stations should travel via Manchester

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.

Please be advised that other train operators are being impacted by this disruption at Wigan.

Replacement transport:

Rail replacement transport will run as follows:

• 1 X S-Line bus departs Liverpool Lime Street at 14:20, all stops to Preston.

• 1 x S-Line bus departs Manchester Victoria at 14:20, all stops to Southport via Wigan Wallgate

• 1 x S-Line bus departs Southport at 14:30, all stops to Manchester Victoria via Wigan Wallgate

• 1 x S-Line bus departs Wigan Wallgate at 14:20, all stops to Manchester Victoria

• 1 x Atlantic Travel bus departs Wigan Wallgate at 15:14, all stops to Headbolt Lane

• 1 x Atlantic Travel bus departs Headbolt Lane at 16:15, stops to Wigan Wallgate

If the train you have a ticket for is cancelled, you can travel on any Northern, TransPennine Express or LNER service within 2 hours before or after your cancelled service was due to depart.

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.