RAIL passengers faced a second day of disruption across parts of north-west England on Friday after a power failure hit the signalling centre controlling the railway network in the region.
The outage, which occurred shortly before 2pm on Thursday, caused widespread delays and cancellations.
Services affected on Friday morning included Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, Northern, TransPennine Express, Transport for Wales, CrossCountry and London Northwestern Railway, reported The Guardian.
National Rail said trains were running again but delays were expected until around noon as several trains and crew remained out of position after Thursday’s disruption. It warned that services across Greater Manchester and north-west England could still be cancelled or run only part of their usual routes.
Northern advised passengers not to travel before 10am, while TransPennine Express warned of delays and cancellations before midday.
Network Rail said engineers worked through the night to restore signalling systems. North-west route director Chris Wright thanked passengers for their patience and said: “Our engineers worked through the night to restore signalling systems and recover the railway, and I’m pleased that most services are now running this morning.
“While some passengers may still experience disruption, we’re continuing to work closely with train operators to return services to normal as quickly as possible. Anyone planning to travel this morning should continue to check before they travel for the latest information.”
A wartime bomb found near the railway between Tamworth and Burton-on-Trent also added to disruption on Thursday, The Guardian reported.
