Rail services across wide areas of the UK remain disrupted after a power failure at a communications centre caused extensive cancellations and delays. Greater Manchester, the Midlands and the north-west are most affected, and National Rail expects disruption until midday on Friday. A separate fire near Cardiff has also impacted routes between Cardiff Central and Newport. Travellers with tickets dated 6 August can use them on any valid route on Friday.
Mapped: Major Power Failure Disrupts UK Rail Network — Widespread Delays Across Manchester, Midlands and Wales
National Rail are advising passengers to expect disruption until midday (National Rail)
Rail passengers across large parts of the UK are facing travel disruption for a second day after a major power failure affected signalling and communications systems, leading to widespread cancellations and delays.
Commuters in Greater Manchester, the Midlands and the north-west of England have been worst hit. National Rail has warned disruption is likely to continue until midday on Friday and urged travellers to check National Rail Enquiries and individual train operators' websites for the latest updates.
Affected operators include East Midlands Railway, Northern, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales. Passengers with tickets dated 6 August have been advised they can use them on any valid route on Friday.
Further major disruption was announced in Wales on Friday – several routes travelling between Cardiff Central and Newport are affected (National Rail)
"There was a failure of the electricity supply at a communications centre yesterday afternoon that caused severe disruption to trains across the Greater Manchester area and the north west of England," National Rail said. "Although trains are now able to operate, the severity of the disruption that occurred on the network yesterday means that a number of trains and crew are now in the wrong locations for the start of service today."
Electricity distribution company SP Electricity North West reported a power cut in Harpurhey, north-east of Manchester city centre, which affected more than 400 postcodes — including the Manchester Rail Operating Centre. The company said the fault, caused by an unexpected incident on a high-voltage cable, has since been resolved.
Manchester's Bee Network continues to accept affected rail tickets across all Metrolink lines and Bee Network bus services during the disruption.
Chris Wright, Network Rail's North West route director, said: "I'd like to thank passengers for their patience following yesterday's power outage and the disruption it caused across the North West. 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."
Separately, a fire on the track near Cardiff has damaged signalling and overhead electricity equipment, causing further major disruption in Wales. Several routes between Cardiff Central and Newport are affected. National Rail warned that passengers travelling with CrossCountry, Great Western Railway or Transport for Wales on routes between those stations should expect severe delays or cancellations until the end of the day.
Advice for passengers: Check National Rail and operator websites before travelling, allow extra journey time, and take advantage of ticket acceptance arrangements where offered.
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