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Trains suspended after suspected drink-driver crashes on to tracks in Salford Trains restart after suspected drink-driver crashes on to tracks in Salford
(about 11 hours later)
Incident hits services between Manchester and Liverpool, with Chat Moss line expected to be closed for most of day National Rail says incident will continue to cause major disruption to services between Manchester and Liverpool
A major railway line in Greater Manchester has been closed after a car driven by a suspected drink-driver crashed on to train tracks. Rail lines between Manchester and Liverpool have reopened after a car driven on to train tracks by a suspected drunk-driver was cleared.
Images from the scene show the vehicle landed upside down and was surrounded by debris on the tracks in Salford, causing major disruption to train services between Manchester and Liverpool, which was expected to last until 10pm on Friday. Major disruption is still expected until the end of Friday because trains and crews have been displaced. Services operated by Northern, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales are affected.
Images from the scene showed the vehicle upside down and surrounded by debris on the tracks in Salford
National Rail wrote on X: “Lines have reopened between Newton-le-Willows / Wigan North Western and Manchester: major disruption expected until the end of the day.
“Due to train crew and unit displacement there will still be a significant amount of disruption, trains may still be cancelled, revised or delayed. It’s recommended that you check before you travel.”
Greater Manchester police said the driver of the car, a man in his 30s, was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving. He was taken to hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries.Greater Manchester police said the driver of the car, a man in his 30s, was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving. He was taken to hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries.
No other vehicles were involved in the incident, which happened at Regent Road roundabout.No other vehicles were involved in the incident, which happened at Regent Road roundabout.
Train services operated by Northern, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales were affected. Earlier, a Network Rail spokesperson said: “In the early hours of this morning, a car crashed on to the railway near Regents Road roundabout in Salford causing significant damage to the railway and overhead electric cables that provide power to trains.”
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “In the early hours of this morning, a car crashed on to the railway near Regents Road roundabout in Salford causing significant damage to the railway and overhead electric cables that provide power to trains. The BMW car was removed from the tracks shortly before midday but Network Rail said the crash caused significant damage to the overhead lines, which took several hours to repair.
“As a result of this incident, no trains are able to run on the Chat Moss line between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly, impacting Transport for Wales, TransPennine Express and Northern train services.” The crash caused major problems for commuters and may also have affected football fans travelling to Old Trafford for the 8pm FA Cup tie between Manchester United and Leicester City.
The BMW car was removed from the tracks shortly before midday but Network Rail said damage to the overhead lines would take at least eight hours to repair. A spokesperson said: “We anticipate the earliest possible time the lines can reopen is 22:00.” “We’re really sorry to any passengers affected by this incident and urge anyone planning to travel by train between Liverpool and Manchester to plan ahead and check with their train operator for the latest travel information,” the Network Rail spokesperson said.
The crash caused major problems for commuters and may also affect football fans travelling to Old Trafford for the 8pm FA Cup tie between Manchester United and Leicester.
“We would ask passengers travelling to the Manchester United game to check before they travel,” the spokesperson said.
“We’re really sorry to any passengers affected by this incident and urge anyone planning to travel by train between Liverpool and Manchester to plan ahead and check with their train operator for the latest travel information.”