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Passengers in parts of northern England and Wales are advised to check before travelling as flooding continues to affect rail services.

Major flooding and landslips are disrupting services in some parts of Cumbria, the Tyne Valley, West Yorkshire and the Conwy Valley in Wales.

Network Rail and the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) have launched a Christmas campaign reminding people to take extra care in stations to reduce festive falls and “Lend a Helping Hand” to each other, as new figures reveal that the average number of “slips, trips and fall” incidents is 20% higher in the month of December than any other month.

Salford City FC co-owner and former Manchester United and England superstar Paul Scholes has helped launch a new railway safety initiative which aims to cut the number of young people who are killed or injured after trespassing on the railway.

More than 60 open level crossings have been fitted with a new modular barrier system to improve safety and reduce the risk of a road vehicle collision with a train. The barriers at Brewster Lane and Matt Pitts Lane in Skegness, Lincolnshire were brought into use this month, the final two of 66 crossings which have been upgraded as part of a three year national programme.

As thousands of drivers take to the roads to deliver the estimated 200m parcels that have been ordered in the run-up to Christmas, Network Rail has teamed up with some of the biggest road fleets in Britain to help drivers stay safe at level crossings this winter. 

The West Coast main line north of Carlisle has reopened just two days after it was under eight feet of floodwater.

Network Rail will be re-opening the West Coast main line north of Carlisle this afternoon just two days after it was under eight feet of floodwater.

Network Rail’s orange army has swung into action to reopen the northern section of the West Coast main line after extensive flooding of the tracks receded overnight.