Rail passengers face mayhem on some of the UK’s busiest routes after an electricity supply meltdown.
Trains in Greater Manchester, the North West and Midlands were thrown into chaos this afternoon after the electricity supply at a rail communications centre broke down.
This is causing major disruption to services in the region, with Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales slated for issues until the end of the day.
The fault is affecting essential rail communications, and trains are unable to run safely.
If you are travelling on these services today, brace for cancellations, delays of up to 60 minutes and revisions.
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Northern told passengers ‘do not travel’ as services are unable to run on many lines in the North West, and it has no replacement buses or trains operating.
The rail firm told passengers on social media it has no replacement services because it is unable to recruit drivers because the outage affects control and communications.
TransPennine Express also advised people not to travel as ‘all trains will be stopped due to a failure of the communication systems on the network’ and that ‘trains are unable to run safely.’
Avanti West Coast customers can use their ticket on one or two services before or after their booked train if their service is cancelled.
It is worth noting down your train details and the length of the delay if you are affected, because delays exceeding 15 minutes usually qualify for delay repay.
How to claim delay repay
The scheme known as delay repay has streamlined getting some money back if your train is delayed or cancelled.
Depending on the severity of the delay or cancellation, you might be entitled to a full refund or compensation.
For delays, note down the length of the delay and keep hold of your ticket if it’s not an e-ticket.
You will usually have to claim refunds and compensation directly from your train company.
A full list of train operators can be found on the National Rail delay repay website.
Have you been affected? Please email noora.mykkanen@metro.co.uk
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