Passengers face travel misery on a major route to London Euston after a bridge collapsed following a lorry crash.
Train passengers should brace for cancellations and delays on the Avanti West Coast, London Northwestern Railway and some Lumo services after the incident this evening.
A chunk of a railway bridge came crashing down between Nuneaton and Rugby on the West Coast Main Line after a tall lorry collided with the structure.
Trains are forced to divert via Birmingham
Many services will also be cancelled or delayed by up to 60 minutes, National Rail warned.
The issue is expected to last at least until 5pm on Friday, spelling difficult journeys for people heading off for the weekend.
However, it could take longer for the route to reopen, and there is currently no definite time when this will be.
Network Rail engineers are at the site inspecting the damage.
Here is a full list of the affected routes.
- Avanti West Coast – between Glasgow Central / Blackpool North / Preston / Holyhead / Wrexham General / Chester / Liverpool Lime Street / Manchester Piccadilly / Crewe / Wolverhampton and London Euston
- London Northwestern Railway – between Crewe and Rugby / Northampton / London Euston
- Lumo – between Stirling and London Euston
Martin Ball, Network Rail’s infrastructure director said: ‘This collision has caused significant damage to the bridge and our teams are working hard to understand the extent.
‘There will be ongoing disruption to train services through this area while we assess the bridge.
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‘We are working closely with our partners to keep passengers on the move wherever possible but anyone travelling should check on train operator websites or the National Rail Enquiries for the latest information.’
Network Rail issued a scathing reminder to drivers after the incident, saying they should know the height of their vehicles and the loads and plan routes accordingly ‘so that infrastructure isn’t put at risk in this way.’
National Rail said: ‘Please check before you travel as services along this route may start or terminate from either side of Nuneaton or Rugby, or will not run the full journey.
‘Where possible, trains will divert via Birmingham.’
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