Preston to Manchester trains cancelled due to blocked lines at Leyland

The fault is affecting trains travelling between Leyland and Bolton, with replacement buses taking passengers onward to Preston and Manchester.

The first service affected was the 8.05am Manchester Victoria to Preston, which terminated at Bolton. Passengers were forced to leave the train and wait for a replacement bus to complete their 23-mile journey to Preston.

The 10.04am Preston to Manchester Victoria service was initially rescheduled for 11am, but has now been cancelled altogether.

Northern said stations between Lostock and Buckshaw Parkway will not be served at all until the fault has been fixed.

All train services running through Leyland and Bolton stations are likely to be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or diverted.

The rail operator said it expects disruption to continue until around 11am.

A spokesman for Northern said: "Due to a points failure at Lostock, trains are unable to call at any station between Lostock towards Leyland only.

"Network Rail are en route with an estimated time of arrival of 40 minutes."

If you've been delayed by 15 minutes or more, hold on to your tickets and claim compensation by visiting northernrailway.co.uk/delayrepay

UPDATE: 10.20am - Disruption caused by a points failure between Leyland and Bolton has now ended. Services are no longer affected.