Lightning damage causes rush hour train delays on major route into London

The extreme weather is wreaking havoc on the railways after damage to the vital signalling system, causing delays on the London Euston route.

Passengers have been enduring an almost week-long heatwave as hot weather continues to grip the UK and western Europe, leading to disruption on rail and road.

Travellers on Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway services should brace for delays and even cancellations today after a lightning strike damaged the signalling system overnight.

The lightning hit the infrastructure between Crewe and Liverpool South Parkway and Warrington Bank Quay, forcing all lines to close.

This is causing delays on the route between London Euston, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Preston and Liverpool Lime Street, National Rail warned.

Train delays could run up to 30 minutes, so it is worth noting down the times as you might be eligible for delay repay.

The issue is expected to last until the end of the day.

The Euston live departure board lists the 8.07am Avanti train to Liverpool Lime Street as cancelled, along with the 8.10am Avanti train to Birmingham New Street.

The Euston to Liverpool Lime Street train at 9.05am and at 10.07am have also been cancelled.

Chris Wright, Network Rail’s North West route director, said: ‘We’re sorry to passengers affected by this disruption caused by the stormy conditions overnight.

‘Our specialist signalling and telecoms teams are working as fast as possible to fix the faults and get the railway fully back up and running. I’d advise anyone travelling today to please check National Rail Enquiries or with their train operator for the latest travel information before they set off on their journey.’

Trains from King’s Cross face cancellations and delays of up to an hour after an emergency incident between London and Stevenage today.

This is affecting Grand Central, Great Northern, Hull Trains, LNER, Lumo and Thameslink services until at least 3pm.

Ground rail temperatures have reached above 50C this week, and this can cause them to buckle, Network Rail said.

Yesterday, hundreds of commuters were stuck in a tunnel on their way to London after two trains suffered a technical glitch during the record-breaking heatwave.

One of the affected trains was an empty Eurostar service, and the disruption had knock-on delays on departures from St Pancras, with long queues of holidaymakers snaking up through the concourse.

Delays were also reported on the French side before the issue was resolved.

Large parts of the UK are set to endure another sweltering day, with temperatures reaching above 30C in London and the South East.

Clouds might bring possibly thundery showers later, the Met Office forecast shows.

Lightning last night has also damaged the signalling system between Skipton and Carlisle, affecting Northern services this morning. Northern and TransPennine Express trains between Leeds and Castleford have also been disupted after a fault with the signalling system.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

MORE: Struggling to sleep at night? These are the best fans to keep you cool in a heatwave

MORE: Too hot to sleep? These Shark fan deals will cool you down fast

MORE: Flight attendant shares secret code word that no one wants to hear on a plane