Major delays hit Preston railway station due to storm damage to overhead wires

Train services in and out of Preston Railway Station have been affected by major delays this morning due to earlier damage on the tracks.

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National Rail reported an incident of damage to overhead electric wires at 6:05am this morning between Bolton and Preston which led to lines being closed.

As of 7:57, the train company has now explained that the lines have since reopened but as services recover, trains running between these stations may still be cancelled or delayed by up to 20 minutes.

These disruptions are now expected until 9:30am.

The two train operators that have been affected by the disruptions are Northern and TransPennine Express.

Rail provider Avanti West Coast also warned commuters at about 6.30am that services between Preston and Glasgow/Edinburgh are subject to cancellation due to heavy flooding on the railway between Carlisle and Lockerbie.

It said in a post on X: “All routes north of Preston are currently blocked in both directions.”

Due to the weather causing significant disruption on the West Coast Main Line with flooding on the route north of Carlisle, TransPennine Express are strongly advising customers to do not travel on the following routes on Thursday 23 May:

Services between Manchester, Liverpool, Preston to Carlisle, Glasgow and Edinburgh

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Routes that have been affected also include Northern between Manchester Airport and Blackpool North / Barrow-in-Furness / Windermere.

National Rail have stated travellers may be entitled to compensation if they experience a delay in completing their journey today.