With a challenging 24 hours of heavy snow, ice, rain and high winds due to Storm Goretti, trains in Manchester are still somewhat disrupted, especially going towards the Peak District and Pennines. Storm Goretti saw heavy snow hit the West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire hard last night (8th January), with Wales also being severely affected.
Storm Goretti still affecting train services across the UK
Passengers in the West Midlands around Birmingham are advised not to travel by train until at least 12pm today, and some lines in the region may remain closed until Saturday. Severe disruption in Wales means many lines are closed across the country, and customers strongly advised to check their journeys before they travel.
There are still no trains between Sheffield and Manchester until Saturday, and no trains on some routes around Manchester into the Peaks until Saturday, including Manchester-Hadfield and Manchester-Buxton.
Network Rail regional director Jake Kelly said: “Thousands of railway colleagues are doing everything they can to get the railway open in areas affected by Storm Goretti, but I would strongly advise passengers to check their journeys today as we know some lines won’t be able to run until Saturday.”
Which trains are cancelled & disrupted in the North West due to Storm Goretti?
TransPennine Express
The route between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield via Stockport is closed until the end of the day. During this time, no trains will operate on this route.
During this closure, services between Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes will run only between the following stations, in both directions:
- Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Oxford Road
- Sheffield and Cleethorpes
Be aware that due to the weather conditions, there will be no rail replacement buses running between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield, in either direction. You can check before you travel here.
If your ticket is dated for travel 8 January or today, Friday 9 January, you may instead use it up to and including Monday 12 January (and until 04:29 on Tuesday 13 January).
After this time, East Midlands Railway and Northern services will also be unable to operate on this route.
While disruption is ongoing, you may use your ticket at no extra cost on:
- From Manchester Piccadilly you can use your ticket to travel on any alternative TransPennine Express service towards Huddersfield / Leeds / York
- LNER services between York / Leeds and Doncaster
- CrossCountry services between York and Doncaster
- Northern services Leeds and Sheffield / Doncaster
- Northern services from Huddersfield to Sheffield after 12pm
Northern Rail
The following routes are suspended until the end of the day:
- Between Manchester Piccadilly and Glossop / Hadfield
- Between Hazel Grove and Buxton
- Between New Mills Central and Sheffield (a reduced service is running between Manchester Piccadilly and New Mills Central via Bredbury)
Until 12pm today, the following routes are suspended:
- Between Huddersfield and Barnsley
Customers travelling on the affected routes stated above with tickets dated Thursday 8 or Friday 9 January, will be valid for travel up to and including Monday 12 January. Additionally, refunds will be available for anyone who decides not to travel.
Northern customers are also able to use their tickets at no extra cost on all Bee Network buses across the Bee Network until the end of the day today. Check before you travel here.
Transport for Wales
The following routes will have a reduced service until the end of the day:
- Between Shrewsbury and Crewe – one train every two hours will run
- Between Chester and Manchester – one train per hour will run
A live map of the Transport for Wales network is available to see disrupted routes.
If you’re unable to travel today, you may use your ticket on up to and including Monday 12 January at no extra cost on Avanti West Coast between Wolverhampton and Birmingham New Street. Check before you travel here.
East Midlands Railway
East Midlands Railway services cannot run between Sheffield and Manchester for the rest of today. Due to the weather conditions, there will be no rail replacement buses running between these stations.
All other EMR routes should be running as usual after 10am on 9th January. Check before you travel here.
Avanti West Coast
Avanti West Coast are advising do not travel until 1pm on their Midlands routes. Avanti will be running an amended timetable across all routes until 3pm, at which time they aim to resume normal service. If possible, it’s strongly recommend you travel after 3pm.
If you have an Avanti West Coast ticket dated Thursday 8 or Friday 9 January, you can use it to travel on the same route on any date up to and including Monday 12 January, at no extra cost. The timetable reduction is currently until 3pm today, as this is when the worst of the disruption is expected. Check before you travel here.
Tickets will be accepted on the following routes at no extra cost:
London Northwestern Railway between:
- Crewe and London Euston
- Birmingham New Street and London Euston
East Midlands Railway between Birmingham New Street and Manchester Piccadilly via Crewe in both directions.