Second day of disruption after train derailment

Train passengers are facing a second day of major disruption after a Glasgow to London train derailed, seemingly after hitting a landslip.

The 04:28 Avanti West Coast service came off the tracks on the West Coast mainline at Shap in Cumbria on Monday morning after travelling at speeds of 80mph.

Of the 87 people on board, including staff, four people suffered minor injuries but no-one required further hospital treatment, the North West Ambulance Service confirmed.

Network Rail said the train had been removed and overhead lines had been repaired, but disruption was expected to continue on the line north of Preston and south of Carlisle.

Avanti West Coast is warning customers not to travel further north than Preston, and said tickets could be used from Wednesday to Friday instead.

The derailment has also hit TransPennine Express services, which use the West Coast Mainline.

Buses will be running instead of trains on TransPennine Express and Avanti West Coast services between Preston and Carlisle. Tickets will also be accepted on alternative routes with some other train operators.

Network Rail said the front coach of the 11-carriage service derailed during severe weather conditions and while it was still dark.

Operations director Sam MacDougall said early indications suggested the train had hit a landslide.

He said: “We believe the train was travelling at approximately 80mph (129km/h) at the point of collision and then stopped very quickly thereafter.”

The Met Office is predicting more heavy rainfall for Cumbria.

Avanti West Coast services between Glasgow Central and Birmingham New Street, Crewe, Wolverhampton, London Euston, and also between Edinburgh and London Euston are disrupted by the track closure.

Caledonian Sleeper trains are affected, with services between Glasgow, Edinburgh and London cancelled, while services between Aberdeen, Fort William, Inverness and London have been diverted.

TransPennine Express services between Edinburgh, Glasgow Central and Manchester Airport, and also between Glasgow Central and Liverpool Lime Street, are disrupted.

Network Rail said the following changes would apply to Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express services:

• Avanti West Coast services that normally run from Edinburgh, Glasgow Central to London Euston will be cancelled, and a shuttle service is running from Glasgow Central to Carlisle
• Avanti West Coast services that normally run from London Euston to Glasgow Central and Edinburgh will run between London Euston and Preston only
• TransPennine Express services that normally run between Glasgow Central and Liverpool Lime Street will run between Preston and Liverpool Lime Street only
• TransPennine Express services that normally run between Edinburgh, Glasgow Central and Manchester Airport will run between Preston and Manchester Airport only

More ticket and travel advice can be found on the Network Rail website.

Network Rail, which looks after the track, said the precise cause of the derailment was still being investigated.

It said teams had been “working around the clock in challenging conditions” to get the railway back up and running.

Posting on X, it said the train was cleared from the tracks overnight and works were ongoing to repair the line.

Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale said it was not the first time something like this had happened in his constituency.

Last year, there were delays after heavy rain caused a landslip on the same stretch of track.

He told BBC Radio Cumbria he was not “going to turn a blind eye”.

“We have had too many of these things recently, two derailments in my own constituency in 18 months…I’m bound to be very concerned on behalf of our communities and indeed everybody else as a rail user,” he said.

He said he would be raising the issue in the House of Commons with the transport secretary and discussing the long-term infrastructure on the West Coast Mainline.

Network Rail said it was using track sensors, CCTV and a system that helps to detect movement when ground conditions change to improve the resilience of the West Coast Main Line.

It said £30m was being invested in earthworks across Lancashire and Cumbria over the next four years “to stabilise embankments, track beds and cuttings”, as well as a £323m modernisation programme to futureproof the route.

The Department for Transport said it had made £44bn available to Network Rail for the management of the railways across England and Wales.