It comes after damage was caused to the overhead lines
Passengers queue for rail replacement buses outside Piccadilly station on Friday(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
Rail passengers are set for two more days of disruption after overhead lines were damaged at Manchester Piccadilly. More than 200 services were cancelled at the major station on Thursday and Friday (April 16 and 17), while dozens more faced significant delays.
Overhead lines became damaged at around 11.20am on Thursday morning after an Avanti West Coast service from London Euston pulled into the station. It’s understood the overhead line became ‘tangled’ with the train’s pantograph above the first class carriage.
Repair work took place on Thursday night, but the issue was too complex to resolve by Friday morning, with disruption continuing for much of the day. Further repairs are due to take place this weekend, with lines set to close at Piccadilly from 11pm tonight (Saturday) until 11am on Sunday morning.
Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter
Some delays and cancellations are also expected prior to that closure. Avanti West Coast is running only one train between London and Manchester per hour for most of today.
No Northern services are running between Piccadilly, Hazel Grove and Alderley Edge today, while the company has issued a ‘do not travel’ warning for between 11pm and 11am. East Midlands Railway services are running as normal today.
Major disruption took place on Thursday and Friday(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
CrossCountry, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales are running a normal service for most of the day, with some disruption expected later tonight and tomorrow morning. In an update issued this morning (Saturday), a National Rail spokesperson said: “There has been some damage to the overhead electric wires at Manchester Piccadilly.
“Repair work has been carried out that has allowed most trains to be able to start running normally to / from the station again, however, some platforms still remain unavailable for use by certain trains. Trains may be cancelled, revised or delayed by up to 30 minutes.
“Significant disruption is still expected to services running to / from this station today until full repairs are completed, and all platforms are fully back in use. These repairs are expected to take place later this evening through into the early hours of Sunday morning. Disruption to services is expected to continue until 11:00 on Sunday, April 19.”
Passengers are being urged to plan their journeys ahead before they travel. Full details on services facing disruption and ticket restrictions can be found here.