28.11.16
Derailed engineering train causes morning mayhem in Greater Manchester
A derailed engineering train near Eccles in Greater Manchester has caused major delays and cancellations to services across the north west of England, with timetables not expected to recover fully until lunch time.
The train, which was carrying out engineering work, derailed at Ordsall Lane Junction near Eccles early on Monday morning.
Although the train was eventually re-railed, it meant that track upgrades could not be completed until three hours over schedule, hitting rush-hour commuters.
A Network Rail spokesman said: “At 1am today (Mon Nov 28) some wheels on an engineering train working at Ordsall Lane in Manchester became dislodged from the track.
“Network Rail engineers re-railed the train at 4am, however, due to the incident, track upgrades were completed at 8.08am, instead of 4.40am as planned. This work had to be completed to ensure the track was safe for trains to run on but unfortunately this caused severe delays for rush-hour customers.”
TransPennine Express and Northern rail services to and from Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria have been most hampered by the derailment. Services to Chester, Edinburgh, Barrow and Blackpool have also been affected.
The spokesman confirmed that replacement buses have been arranged for some customers and tickets are being accepted on Virgin Trains, East Midlands and Cross Country services.
“We are sorry to customers affected by today’s incident and would advise people travelling today to check the latest information at www.nationalrail.co.uk,” the spokesman said.
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