West Coast Mainline blocked as practice derails in Cumbria

An early morning practice from Glasgow to London derailed after hitting a landslide, inflicting main disruption on the West Coast mainline for “several days”.

At 06:10 GMT the 04:28 Avanti West Coast service from Glasgow Central to London Euston derailed at Shap in Cumbria, the practice operator stated.

As a end result the strains north to Preston and south to Carlisle had been blocked, leaving passengers stranded on both aspect of the accident.

The North West Ambulance Service stated there have been 87 folks on board the aircraft, together with workers, and 4 suffered minor accidents who didn’t require hospital therapy.

An Avanti spokesperson stated: “It is likely that there will be significant disruption to our network for several days.”

The derailment additionally affected the TransPennine Express service utilizing the West Coast mainline.

James Burrow, who was on the derailed service, stated, “There was a flash and a bang,” earlier than crews instantly knowledgeable passengers that the practice had derailed.

He stated he was taken off the practice at 08:50 to go to the close by Shap Wells Hotel.

“People were confused but calm,” Mr Burrows stated.

“At first we thought a car or something had hit the train.

“I was taking pictures of the train and a guy came up and said 'I was driving that.'

“He's really like a hero, it could have been a lot worse.”

After being put up at the hotel, the passengers were transferred to two coaches – one going to London and the other going back to Scotland.

Campbell Watson, from Glasgow, told BBC Radio Cumbria: “I was sleeping and there was a big shock on the train, a big scream and then suddenly the train stopped and the power went out.

“It was a very shocking experience.”

Network Rail confirmed that a landslide had occurred in the area before the train derailment, although it is still trying to determine whether this was the cause of the derailment.

BBC Weather lead presenter Helen Willetts said it was a wet weekend in Cumbria.

“There has been 77.4 mm rainfall in the last three days,” he stated.

“It's a moist time of yr, however that is greater than a 3rd of the anticipated rainfall for November.”

Shap Parish Council chairman Jean Jackson said the “rainfall is unprecedented” round Cumbria.

With the “steep slopes” located next to the railway line, she was “not stunned” that a landslide had occurred there.

Last yr there was a delay after this Heavy rain induced landslide on the identical a part of the observe,

Network Rail operations director Sam McDougall said Cumbria faced these “particular challenges” due to the regional weather and topography.

The disruption will continue until at least the end of Monday as lines remain blocked due to the derailed train. This means:

• Southbound Avanti West Coast services from Edinburgh or Glasgow Central to London Euston will be cancelled.
• Avanti trains northbound from London will only run to Preston
• ScotRail and some Avanti trains running southwards to Carlisle
• TransPennine services from Edinburgh and Glasgow to Liverpool or Manchester will run to Carlisle
• Services from Liverpool or Manchester will run to Preston

TransPennine has warned that running an hourly rail replacement bus between Preston and Carlisle is “proving difficult” due to the limited supply of coaches.

Tickets for travel on Monday will be accepted on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Avanti and TransPennine tickets are being accepted on the following services:

• With the LNER between London King's Cross and Edinburgh
• Between Edinburgh and Glasgow Central with ScotRail
• Between Edinburgh and Birmingham New Street with CrossCountry
• Between Carlisle and Newcastle along the Northern
• Between Preston and York along the Northern
• Between Preston and Manchester Piccadilly with the Northern and TransPennine Express.

On the West Coast Mainline itself, trains from the south were going no further than Preston, while services from the north were terminating at Carlisle.

Northern said its services north of Cumbria and Preston are not currently affected by the closure.

Tim Farron, Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, said he had spoken to Network Rail about the damage to the line and what the next steps would be.

He said he would raise the issue with the Transport Secretary in the House of Commons and discuss long-term infrastructure on the West Coast Mainline.

Scotland's First Minister John Swinney said he was “very involved” about the derailment and was “completely relieved” that no one was injured.

He said he was in contact with the UK government to ensure that anyone affected received “applicable assist”.