A power outage at a Network Rail signalling centre brought trains to a standstill across north-west England on Thursday, stranding hundreds of passengers and triggering delays of up to two hours through Greater Manchester, the Midlands, and Liverpool. The 90-second outage struck just before 14:00 BST at the Manchester Rail Operating Centre near Ashburys station, part of a wider supply fault in the Ardwick area that affected around 5,000 customers. An emergency generator failed to start in time to maintain signalling operations.
At least eight operators were affected, including Avanti West Coast, Northern, and TransPennine Express, which advised customers not to travel. Disruption was compounded by a wartime bomb found near tracks between Tamworth and Burton-on-Trent. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander expressed regret for affected passengers, while Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig called for an investigation.
Although power was restored within 90 seconds, safety protocols required a controlled restart. Northern advised passengers not to travel until 10:00 on Friday, with further disruption expected into the morning.