Rail passengers using London Midland trains face long delays today after overhead lines were brought down, causing disruption which is likely to last all day.
A spokesman for London Midland said: “Due to the overhead wires having been brought down at Hanslope Junction, there are currently no trains running between Northampton and Milton Keynes, or on the direct Rugby to Milton Keynes route.
“Trains can run between Northampton, Rugby and Birmingham New Street but as most services normally come from London, delays and cancellations are likely.
“Services on the Euston line will be disrupted all day and we are extremely sorry if you are affected.”
Network Rail said a train pantograph had become entangled with overhead lines at the junction and the cables were damaged.
A Network rail spokesman said: “At around 05:00 GMT on Friday the overhead wires on the West Coast Main Line, just north of Milton Keynes (at Hanslope Junction), suffered damage blocking all four lines,” a spokesman said.
“An empty train, moving into position for the morning peak is currently entangled in wires that have come down.
“Network Rail engineers are currently on site and hope to restore two of the four lines by lunchtime with the aim of restoring all lines tomorrow following overnight work. All lines remain blocked,”
Sean Hope, a member of the Northampton Rail Users Group, said he thought questions needed to be asked about how the maintenance of the railway line.
He said: “This is appalling and begs the question how well the line is being maintained.
“We’ve had problems on the east coast mainline and now we’ve got problems on the west coast mainline.”
The rail operator is advising people to follow @LondonMidland on Twitter for live updates and travel advice or visit www.londonmidland.com/live.
A replacement bus service is running between Rugby / Northampton and Milton Keynes Central, and also between Northampton and Wellingborough to connect with East Midlands Trains services to London St Pancras.
Virgin Trains passengers can use tickets ons Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Coast, East Midlands Trains between Sheffield and London St Pancras International, First Great Western and London Midland.
London Midland can use tickets on Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Trains between Sheffield and London St Pancras International, First Capital Connect, First Great Western, Southern and Virgin Trains.
If your journey is delayed by 30 minutes or more, you are entitled to compensation.
Visit www.londonmidland.com/delayrepay for details.
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