Thousands of rail passengers hit by power failure disruption
An outage in Manchester caused delays and cancellations, with services expected to be affected throughout the evening.
In northern England, thousands of rail passengers experienced delays and cancellations due to a power failure at Manchester Rail Operating Centre, part of a larger power outage. The electrical failure occurred just before 14:00 BST, causing major disruption across the region. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander advised passengers to check their trains before traveling, as disruption was expected for the rest of the day.
At least eight rail operators remained affected on Thursday evening, with trains traveling from stations such as Birmingham New Street and London Euston experiencing delays and cancellations. Network Rail reported a wartime bomb near the railway track between Tamworth and Burton-on-Trent, which blocked lines and caused further delay.
The incident has since ended, but the chaos continued with various train companies advising against travel and issuing compensation schemes. Passengers shared their experiences, describing "nightmare" journeys and inconveniences, some even opting for alternative transportation like Uber and taxis.
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