Thousands of rail passengers hit by power failure disruption

Thousands of rail passengers faced disruption after a power failure affected services across the North West. Alexander posted on X, external, saying she was "sorry to perceive passengers successful the North West are affected by a powerfulness outage, with trains cancelled oregon delayed". The Manchester Rail Operating Centre, which opened in July 2014, houses the controls needed to run the railway safely in the region, including signalling. According to Network Rail, its operational power bound extends from Crewe in the south to Carlisle in the north, and from Todmorden in the east to the Welsh borderline in the west. Sarah Nelson, unable to reach work in Manchester, described her experience as a "nightmare" five‑hour circular travel to get back to her home in Blackpool. The remedial massage therapist’s train was stuck at Horwich Parkway for more than 90 minutes. Chris, an exertion consultant who travelled to Manchester from Scotland on Wednesday for business, said he would likely book a hotel for the night despite the cost and inconvenience, calling the delay "costly, inconvenient... frustrating". He added, "We're inactive being told determination is nary powerfulness to immoderate of the trains, nary energy - and they don't expect thing to tally contiguous until the extremity of the day," and noted, "I volition person to get a edifice present and spot if I tin get location tomorrow." A couple returning from a trip to Gibraltar had planned to take a train to Clitheroe, Lancashire, after landing at Manchester Airport. Instead, Matt and Sarah had to book an Uber to reach their destination, describing the expense as "costing a fortune". Stacey was among passengers evacuated from a train that stopped prematurely in Manchester when signalling failed. The 38‑year‑old office worker, travelling from Deansgate to Leyland, Lancashire, paid £60 for a taxi home. She said, "The bid stopped erstwhile the signals went," and praised the "phenomenal" staff for their "calm and professional" efforts in organising a controlled evacuation from the viaduct.