Day 2 of travel chaos as reports of cable theft hit Preston Station with delays
Reports of another cable theft at a North West railway station is causing delays this morning.
A credible source who is at Preston Station said that they had been reliably informed of the theft of cables overnight which is causing delays this morning.
Major disruption was reported yesterday across the region's rail network as dozens of services were cancelled and delayed due to the severing of cables at Wigan.
Affected services included Avanti West Coast, Northern and TransPennine Express, leaving passengers stranded at Preston and Blackpool North stations.
Emergency work is still underway to restore the signalling system for the West Coast Main Line, causing major disruption to service across the North West, to Scotland and London Euston.
Network Rail engineers found that the cables carrying vital information that allows trains to move safely around the network have been cut in several locations along the track at Bamfurlong, near Wigan.
This deliberate act of vandalism is being investigated by British Transport Police and Network Rail is assisting with attempting to identify the criminals.
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Phil James, North West route director, said: “This is an appalling act of criminal vandalism and I am sorry for the disruption that passengers have faced.
“Our teams are hard at work making repairs which are very complex due to the nature of this vandalism.
“We are working closely with the train operators to provide what service while the necessary and complicated repair continues."
Disruption is expected to continue today following damage as teams worked hard to sort out the issue and get trains moving again.
Please check National Rail England before you travel.
British Transport Police and Network Rail have been approached for comment on the matter.
How to claim your money back
Northern says if you've been delayed by 15 minutes or more, hold on to your tickets and claim compensation by visiting www.northernrailway.co.uk/delayrepay