Media centre

Tuesday 6 Oct 2020

Passenger disruption as heavy rain floods railway between Wigan and Southport

Region & Route:

North West & Central

| North West & Central: North West

Passengers are being urged to check before they travel after heavy rain flooded the railway between Wigan and Southport.

For safety reasons Network Rail has been forced to close tracks to trains after the severe downpours this morning (6 October).

Specialist teams are currently working on site to help bring water levels down as quickly as possible so trains can run again.

All services between Wigan and Southport are affected and passengers should check www.nationalrail.co.uk or with  train operator Northern at www.media.northernrailway.co.uk/news for the latest travel information.

Richard Horobin, Network Rail’s operations director for the North West, said: “I’m sorry to passengers impacted by the severe rain in the region today. My teams are working as fast as they can to try to clear the flooding and get trains back to normal between Wigan and Southport. With the rain now cleared I’m confident this can be done over the next few hours. In the meantime, please check www.nationalrail.co.uk to find out how your journey will be impacted.”

Northern is running rail replacement road transport until further notice with buses leaving Wigan Wallgate on the hour and Southport at half past the hour.

Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern, said: “Unfortunately, because of the flood water, we are unable to run our usual services between Southport and Wigan – and this is also impacting those service which would normally travel onwards to Stalybridge and Alderley Edge.

“Colleagues from Network Rail are at the scene and doing all they can to reduce the water levels and return rail services to the route.

“In the meantime, I am asking our customers to please be patient. We will operate buses to keep people on the move, but these will potentially add around an hour to journeys.”

Meanwhile, passengers are asked to continue following Government guidance around the use of public transport.

Travellers must wear a face covering on train services and any replacement bus services. Those who fail to do so risk being fined £200.

However, some people are exempt, including young children and people with hidden disabilities or breathing difficulties.

For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers

Passengers can plan their journeys by checking www.nationalrail.co.uk.