Flooded railway tracks cause 'severe delays' at Audenshaw in Manchester after water main burst

  • Flooded railway tracks in Audenshaw near Fairfield Station

Passengers are being warned of 'severe delays' on the trains after a burst water man has flooded railway tracks at Audenshaw in Manchester.

Train services have been cancelled in both directions between Manchester Piccadilly, Rose Hill and Hadfield, including Stalybridge and Leeds via Guide Bridge.

Network Rail were forced to stop running trains due to the amount of water leaking onto the railway near Fairfield station at around 2:00am on Thursday 1 September.

Rail replacement buses are running between Guide Bridge and Manchester Piccadilly in both directions and also between Romiley and Guide Bridge.

As a result, the TransPennine Express service is also being effected as far as Hull and into Yorkshire.

The flooded tracks were discovered in the early hours of Thursday morning. Credit: Network Rail

Chris Pye, Network Rail’s North West infrastructure director, said: "We’re sorry to passengers impacted by this burst water main and we’re assisting United Utilities as they work hard to get to the bottom of the fault and get it fixed so trains can run again."

He continued: "I’d please ask people planning on travelling on the Glossop Line and between Manchester and Leeds via Stalybridge today to check National Rail Enquiries before they set off on their journey today as this is causing severe disruption."

The water started flooding into Fairfield station, closing the line in both directions. Credit: Network Rail

United Utilities are working with Network Rail to control the leak so the line can reopen as soon as possible.

Phil Sweeney, head of central operations for United Utilities, said: “Our teams are working closely with Network Rail to resolve the issue as quickly and as safely as possible whilst maintaining water supplies to customers in the area.

"We’d like to apologise to passengers for the inconvenience caused by the burst.” 

Those travelling are being asked to check www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest travel updates.

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