‘Do not travel’ warning issued as derailed freight train causes rail chaos

This is the derailed freight train which is causing major disruption to rail services in the North West. Services on the West Coast Mainline have been suspended after the freight train derailed in Hardendale, Cumbria, on Wednesday afternoon (May 29).

It has caused Avanti West Coast to issue a ‘do not travel’ warning to passengers heading north of Preston today, while TransPennine Express services are also affected. The issue is affecting services heading between Greater Manchester and Scotland.

Network Rail says its engineers are working as fast as possible to make the route safe for passengers. Disruption is expected on the line for the rest of today (Thursday).

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Kara Wood, Network Rail’s acting North West route strategy director, said: “We’re sorry to passengers affected by the derailment. We have specialist repair teams on site working as fast as they can to make the railway safe.

“Disruption is expected for the rest of the day, so we’re urging people to plan their journeys and check before they travel with their train operator or National Rail Enquiries.” Passengers affected by delays of more than 15 minutes can claim compensation, while customers with Avanti tickets dated yesterday or today for destinations north of Preston can use their ticket tomorrow.