01.03.17
Liverpool Lime Street shut for five days after collapsed wall causes commuter chaos
Liverpool Lime Street station has been forced to completely shut down after a section of trackside wall collapsed, blocking all four lines into the station and damaging overhead wiring equipment.
According to Network Rail the wall crumbled due to it being loaded with concrete and cabins by a third party.
The problem means that East Midlands Trains services to and from Lime Street will now terminate at Oxford Road station in Manchester and will not be able to reach their Liverpool destination.
Network Rail’s Simon Evans told the BBC that “it was extremely wet yesterday as there was a lot of rain, and we’ve established that the person who occupies the property on the other side of the wall appears to have put a lot of concrete and cabins on top of this wall”.
Separately, a different Network Rail spokesperson said: “No trains are running in or out of Liverpool Lime Street station after a section of trackside wall, loaded with concrete and cabins by a third party, collapsed sending rubble across all four lines and taking overhead wires with it.
“An extensive clear-up needs to take place to make the location safe before repairs to the overhead wires can be undertaken.
“Early indications suggest train services will not resume for several days while extensive clear-up and repairs take place to make the location safe. More precise forecasts on how long the repairs will take will be made after daybreak tomorrow.”
Information on London Midland’s site suggested that the lines may not reopen until Monday 6 March, meaning five days of travel disruption for Liverpool commuters.
Northern Rail also updated passengers on the issue, saying that limited services were being provided between Wigan and Huyton, Manchester Victoria and Huyton and trains between Manchester Oxford Road and Liverpool South Parkway.
There are also replacement buses being run to get passengers to Liverpool South Parkway from Lime Street, as well as to Huyton and between Euxton Balshaw Lane and Preston.
Northern has also announced that customers may use their tickets on Merseyrail services between Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool Central.
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