A "do not travel" alert has been issued after a freight train derailed on a major route between England and Scotland.
Services are being cancelled and delayed because of the incident on the West Coast Main Line between Carlisle and Oxenholme Lake District on Wednesday night, National Rail Enquiries added.
Some lines are blocked and a very limited train service is running on the line that remains open. Train operators Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express issued the "do not travel" alert, urging passengers not to attempt to use their services for journeys between Preston and Scotland on Thursday. Ticket holders can delay journeys until Friday or travel with other operators. Network Rail was approached for a comment.
Avanti West Coast wrote on X: "Do Not Travel north of Preston. Services between between Oxenholme Lake District and Penrith have been cancelled due to a freight train derailment blocking the line. Please do not attempt to travel with us between Preston and Scotland today.
"Customers with tickets dated yesterday, Wednesday, 29 May and today Thursday, May 30 can use their Avanti West Coast tickets tomorrow, Friday 31 May, at any time via the same route." TransPennine Express stated: "Due to severe disruption on the West Coast Main Line, customers travelling north of #Preston are advised NOT to travel.
"This is due to an extremely limited train service as well as difficulty in sourcing road transport. TransPennine Express passengers with tickets dated 29th of May 2024 may use their tickets on today's services. TransPennine Express passengers with tickets dated 30th of May 2024 may use their tickets on services tomorrow, the 31st May 2024."
Meanwhile railway lines in and out of Inverness Station have reopened following a closure due to a gas leak from a freight train. Gas distribution firm SGN said on social media its staff had stopped the leak at about 2.30pm.
The firm posted on X: “We’ve now fixed the leak to the affected tank carrying gas which supplies our network at #Inverness station. This has enabled the safe reopening of the station and nearby buildings. @ScotRail services can now resume. Thanks for your patience while we resolved this issue.”
Police Scotland said they were alerted to a “a gas leak from a train in Inverness” at about 10.25am. They said: “Emergency services are in attendance and the public are asked to avoid the Millburn Road and Academy Street areas. The Eastgate Shopping Centre and Morrisons have been evacuated as a precaution.”