Rail chaos continues after overhead line damage

Rail passengers trying to head into or away from Manchester have been warned to expect more severe disruption as engineers battle to repair damaged overhead lines near Piccadilly station.

Services are expected to face sudden cancellations or delays of up to an hour until about 11:00 BST, according to Network Rail.

A team of engineers has "worked through the night" to try to fix the problem, which first arose on Thursday, a spokesperson said.

Some replacement bus services are being provided and tickets may be valid on alternative routes if trains are cancelled.

Services facing cancellation include:

• Avanti West Coast services between Piccadilly and Stockport
• CrossCountry services between Piccadilly and Macclesfield
• East Midlands Railway services between Piccadilly and both Liverpool Lime Street and Sheffield
• Northern services between Piccadilly and Hatfield, Sheffield, Stoke-on-Trent, Crewe and Marple
• Transpennine Express services between Piccadilly and Manchester Airport
• Transport for Wales services also between Piccadilly and Manchester Airport

Network Rail apologised for the disruption.

The spokesperson added: "Engineers have worked throughout the night on complex repairs which are taking longer than expected as the damage was more extensive than first anticipated.

"Our team are still working on the overhead lines and we expect to start running trains by 09:00 BST.

"We are working closely with our train operator partners to keep passengers on the move wherever possible, so please check the National Rail Enquiries website for the latest information on train services today and over the weekend."

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