"Do Not Travel" alert issued to Lancashire rail commuters until 12pm Thursday

An amber weather warning is in place for severe weather across parts of the North West until midday today with wind and snow expected in some areas.

Due to the poor weather conditions on the railway and roads, rail operators Northern, TransPennine Express and East Midlands Railway are advising customers not to travel.

Northern said its routes covering Lancashire, Cumbria and north of Manchester have experienced severe flooding and it has issued a "Do Not Travel" alert.

It says its services running across the whole of its Northern network will be cancelled until 12pm.

Flooding is also affecting roads across the region, meaning the provision of rail replacement transport is also affected.

A spokesman for Northern said: "Anyone who needs to make essential journeys tomorrow are to allow extra time for travel and to check carefully before setting off as the situation evolves.

"As the rain continues to fall and flood waters rise, flooding is becoming more widespread and colleagues across the rail industry are working hard to deal with issues as they arise.

"Northern has been working alongside Network Rail throughout the night to prepare as many rail services as possible to resume on Thursday.

"Despite this hard work, flooding is persisting, and it has become increasingly difficult to operate a reliable service."

Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern, added: “We have worked for the last few days, in conjunction with colleagues from across the industry, to keep our services operating.

"And, where possible we have supported those services with replacement buses when the flooding meant running trains was impossible.

"Unfortunately, we have had to make the difficult decision to advise our customers that they should not travel before Thursday 12pm across many of our north west routes.

"The areas affected are those north of Manchester, Cumbria and Lancashire. Many of our services south of Manchester are still currently planned to run with some exceptions.

“The situation is constantly changing so I urge anyone who needs to make essential journeys over the next few days to allow extra time for travel and to check carefully before setting off.”

Affected routes include:

Manchester - Preston - Carlisle / Glasgow

Heavy rain flooding the railway between Manchester Airport and Carlisle means trains have to run at reduced speed on all lines until the end of the day. Trains will be diverted where possible.

Services operating between Edinburgh, Glasgow, Carlisle, Preston and Manchester Airport will start and terminate at Manchester Piccadilly. Customers who require Manchester Airport are advised to join any alternative service from Manchester Piccadilly. This is expected until 12pm.

The below lines are expected to be open later this morning but Network Rail say they are unable at this time to guarantee that they will be free from flood water, so their advice is "please do not travel".

Blackpool South - Colne

Blackpool North - Liverpool

Blackpool North - Manchester Piccadilly

Preston - Leeds

Barrow - Preston

Windermere - Preston

Preston - Ormskirk

Manchester Victoria - Preston

Clitheroe - Manchester via Bolton

Lancaster - Barrow (UPDATE - 8.55am) - Services between Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness / Lancaster are currently suspended pending the outcome of a Network Rail investigation. More information will follow shortly.

Leeds - Lancaster / Morecambe

Other North West services affected include:

Liverpool - Wigan

Barrow - Carlisle

Leeds - Carlisle

Manchester Piccadilly - Stalybridge