Passengers urged to check before travelling as strong winds cause disruption between Preston and Manchester

Wednesday 25 Mar 2026

Passengers urged to check before travelling as strong winds cause disruption between Preston and Manchester

Region & Route:: North West & Central

Passengers travelling between Preston and Manchester have been urged to check their journeys before travelling after a fallen tree damaged overhead electrical lines on the railway.

Strong winds brought several trees down overnight causing damage to lines in the Lostock area, which has disrupted passengers.

Delays and cancellations are likely to last throughout the day as engineers work as quickly as possible to repair the damage to overhead lines.

Overhead line equipment – or OLE – is the name for the overhead wires and other equipment you can see on electrified railway lines. It carries 25,000 volts of electricity to power electric trains.

It’s a critical part of the railway that allows Network Rail to run faster and greener electric services, replacing trains running on diesel.

Train operator Northern has warned that services travelling through the area will be cancelled or delayed by up to 90 minutes.

Darren Miller, infrastructure director for Network Rail’s North West route said: “We’re very sorry for the disruption which has been caused by severe winds overnight.

"Trees can knock down overhead power lines, severing connections or knocking down masts entirely which causes major disruption for passengers. Please check before you travel as there is likely to be disruption to services for the whole day as we fix repair the damage.”

Passengers should check their journey before leaving home and consider whether alternative travel arrangements where possible.

For up-to-date travel information and detail on alternative travel please check www.nationalrail.co.uk.

Notes to Editors

Passenger information from Northern:

Trains are unable to run between Preston/Wigan Wallgate and Bolton in both directions.
Fewer services are able to run between Bolton and Salford Crescent in both directions.

Services on the following routes will be affected by this disruption (in both directions):

Blackpool North and Manchester Airport
Barrow-in-Furness/Windermere and Manchester Airport.
Southport and Manchester Oxford Road.
Southport and Stalybridge.

Northern services between Clitheroe/Blackburn and Rochdale are not affected.You can travel on the following operators and routes at no extra cost:

Bee Network bus services on the following buses: V1, V2, 35, 36, 37, 38, 132, 575, 601, 602, 607, 608, 609, 632, 635, 640 and 641.
Bee Network Metrolink services between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge.

Northern train ticket restrictions have been lifted in the affected areas, including Advance and Peak restrictions, during this disruption. Restrictions will be reinstated once the disruption ends.

Passenger information from TransPennine Express:

Trains will be diverted via an alternative route between Manchester and Preston.

Services on the following routes are subject to delay and short notice cancellations in both directions:

Glasgow Central - Liverpool Lime Street
Manchester Airport to Glasgow Central/Edinburgh

Trains are unable to call at Bolton and may be diverted via an alternative route.

You can use your ticket at no extra cost on the following services:

Northern services between between Wigan Wallgate and Manchester Victoria via Atherton.
It is just a short walk across the road from Wigan NorthWestern to Wigan Wallgate.
Avanti West Coast services between Preston/Wigan NorthWestern and Glasgow Central.
Avanti West Coast services between Preston/Wigan NorthWestern and Edinburgh.
Metrolink services between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria.
Anyone travelling to/from Bolton, please speak to Station staff for onward travel advice.

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
0330 854 0100
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.