Major disruption can have knock-on effectspublished at 17:20 BST

17:20 BST

Sean Dilley
Correspondent

We don’t yet have confirmation of the actual number of trains caught up in this disruption, but thousands of passengers are likely affected.

When there’s disruption like this you’ve got to think about the logistics behind the scenes, with managers from many companies co-ordinating their response.

This could impact other train operating companies around the country because train drivers, staff and railway workers have to travel using the rail network to get to their places of work.

It sounds a bit trite to say everything is connected, but indeed it is, and so there’s potential for knock-on effects.

Jared Evitts
Reporting from Birmingham New Street

I've been at Birmingham New Street this afternoon speaking to travellers impacted by the disruption.

Bradley Black is trying to travel back up to the north from Birmingham after visiting the city for training.

"I’d just finished, trying to get off at 15:00 and get back to get my daughter from nursery," he says. "I’ve got to New Street and all trains north are cancelled. It’s definitely not ideal."

And the 32-year-old faces another issue – paying late fees to collect his daughter. “I’m trying to ring the nursery and get a late pick-up, pay some extra cash to keep her there for a couple of hours."

Thomas Reeves is also facing delays and hoping to get onto the next train. He’s come off at New Street after starting his journey in Coventry.

“I just got on the train at Coventry, been on the train about ten minutes, they said the line has been terminated and now I’m stuck here,” says 18-year-old Thomas.

The pair met while they were working out how to get back to Manchester – and are hoping they don’t have to get an Uber all the way back up north.

Josh Parry
Reporting from Liverpool Lime Street

Liverpool Lime Street is a major travel hub in the North West, servicing routes across the country.

In the school holidays, it’s particularly busy with travellers using it to get to Manchester Airport and to London.

Crowds of passengers are gathered at the departures board, but it’s not filling anyone with any hope.

All of the trains are either delayed or disrupted; including services to Birmingham, Crewe, Manchester Airport and Nottingham.

One service to Warrington Central is managing to remain operational, with staff putting out a special announcement advising passengers that local Merseyrail trains to Wirral or elsewhere in Liverpool are still running as normal.

One passenger tells me they’re hoping to get back to Leeds in a taxi in order to make an important birthday celebration - at a cost of almost £150 - another is looking for someone to split the cost of a taxi to Birmingham with.

Some passengers are making the most of the sunshine on the steps of the station while they reassess their journeys.

Alex Akhurst
BBC Your Voice

A teacher from Bristol fears that she and her synchronised swimming team are likely to miss a performance in Edinburgh this evening due the disruption.

Becky, 56, who made it to Manchester with two of her fellow performers before being caught up in the disruption, says other passengers are "starting to get cross", adding that "it’s kicking off".

She adds that three trains had already been cancelled before they were able to start their journey in Bristol.

Becky says her group were told to "go to customer service" when exiting the train in Manchester but once there they were simply told there were "no onward plans".

"There’s another traveller here who’s got a show to go and see tonight in Edinburgh, and he’s looking to see if the four of us could get a car together," she adds.

National Rail now lists Lumo trains as among operators affected by the disruption.

A post on the company's X account says the 13:19 London Euston to Stirling service will be delayed from Preston due to the power outage.

Previous posts indicate the service had already been affected by unrelated issues.

James Kelly
BBC Your Voice

Image source, Sarah Nelson

Sarah Nelson, who has been unable to get to work due to the disruption, says she now faces a five-hour round trip to just get back to her home in Blackpool.

The remedial massage therapist's train to Manchester has been at Horwich Parkway for more than 90 minutes, and she says it's "going to be a nightmare" trying to get back home.

As she's stuck at an "outlying station", Sarah says there are very few options for onward travel and is now attempting to find a passenger to share a taxi with back to Blackpool.

"They're saying they will refund us if we get taxis, but in my experience this can be a slow and painful process," she adds.

"I'm probably going to see if I can get a bus to a larger station, but I'm really indecisive as I can't work out what's best to do."

Sarah adds that rail infrastructure in the North needs "proper investment" so that it does not "fail at the drop of a hat", adding that "it's pointless to improve journey times from London when the regional options are so broken".

National Rail has detailed specific advice for customers wanting to travel on each line affected by this afternoon's outage.

Avanti West Coast is not serving Macclesfield. Tickets can be used on other lines including CrossCountry between Birmingham New Street and Stoke-on-Trent and Transport for Wales services between Manchester Piccadilly and Crewe.

East Midlands Railway has asked people not to travel between Sheffield and Liverpool Lime Street.

The service has organised some bus travel between Sheffield, Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly. Tickets can also be used on Avanti West Coast services between Liverpool and London Euston and Greater Anglia services between Norwich and London Liverpool Street.

London Northwestern Railway is organising rail replacement services between Hartford and Liverpool Lime Street.

Northern customers have been asked not to travel. It advises tickets can be used on "reasonable routes" via Transport for Greater Manchester bus services and Metrolink services.

TransPennine Express has asked customers not to travel - tickets can be used on Bee Network buses, LNER services between Doncaster, Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh and some other routes.

Transport for Wales has organised buses between Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Piccadilly while tickets can be used on some other train services including Merseyrail between Liverpool and Chester.

The full advice is available on National Rail., external

Srosh Khan
BBC Newsbeat

We’re seeing more cancellation and disruption notices cropping up across the country.

My initial train from Birmingham New Street to London Euston this afternoon was cancelled, but I was able to board the next one and the journey hasn’t been affected since.

However, I’ve arrived in to a sea of worried faces at London Euston as more red cancellation notices pop up.

Hundreds are gathered by the boards awaiting to see if they’ll be affected.

Announcers are apologising for cancellations and delays, with trains to Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool among some of those affected.

There is widespread rail disruption across much of northern England due to an electrical failure, with customers facing long delays or cancellations.

Here's what we know:

• The disruption has been caused by a power failure in the Ardwick area which affected the Manchester Rail Operating Centre, which houses all the controls to safely operate the railway
• Our transport correspondent Katy Austin says there was a delay to the back-up supply kicking in
• National Rail says the areas directly affected are Greater Manchester and the north-west of England
• Rail companies impacted include Avanti West Coast, East Midlands, Northern, TransPennine Express, London Northwestern Railway and Transport for Wales

• National Rail previously advised the Midlands was impacted by the fault, but has since removed the region from its notice

What we don't know:

• We don't know what has caused the electrical fault at Manchester Rail Operating Centre, or the severity of it
• National Rail say disruption is expected until "the end of the day" but we don't yet know if it could last even longer

Image source, Ethan Saunders/BBC

Network Rail is warning of "major disruption for the rest of the day due to power issues impacting signalling".

In a statement, it says the problems first happened in Manchester "just before" 14:00 today.

"Currently no trains can run from Manchester Piccadilly through to Manchester Victoria and Bolton, impacting services right across the North West network," it adds.

"Some trains are running south and east of the city towards Stockport, but are also subject to delays.

"As a result, cancellations are expected on rail routes across Greater Manchester until the end of today (Thursday 6 August)."

It advises anyone planning on travelling to day to check in advance with National Rail or their individual rail company.

National Rail has updated its guidance, removing the Midlands from the areas currently affected.

It has advised that major disruption continues to be expected until the end of the day in the Greater Manchester area and north-west of England.

Katy Austin
Transport correspondent

I’ve had more details from Network Rail, which manages the infrastructure, to explain exactly what’s happened to cause this disruption.

My understanding is that there was a power supply failure in the Ardwick area of Manchester, not just affecting the railway.

But this affected Network Rail’s Regional Operating Centre, which houses all the controls to safely operate the railway, including signalling.

There was a delay to the back-up supply kicking in.

My understanding is that with signalling down, all affected trains had to stop.

Now, the aim is to get them all into stations, and then reboot the railway systems.

The railway is busy, and timetables are incredibly complex. Trains and staff ending up in the wrong place - especially when lots are affected at once - can have a big impact on the rest of the day’s plans, even once a problem is fixed.

TransPennine Express says trains are "unable to run safely" due to a failure of the communication systems on the network from a Network Rail power failure in the Greater Manchester and North West area.

The operator says no trains or replacement buses are running and passengers are strongly advised not to travel as it adds disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Passengers can apply for refunds at their point of purchase and those already travelling are able to use their tickets at no extra cost on Friday or across Metrolink, Northern, CrossCountry and LNER services as well as Bee Network buses.

Image source, National Rail

In a video shared on social media, National Rail advises customers to "allow extra time", explaining that they may need to use alternative routes or change trains partway through their journey.

Here's a reminder of the routes impacted.

It says "ticket acceptance" arrangements are in place to help customers complete their journeys - it advises looking at the National Rail website for a full list of options.

Operators Northern Railway and TransPennine Express are advising no travel, the video says.

Transport for Wales customers can use rail replacement buses between Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Piccadilly at no extra cost, it adds.

Image source, Getty Images

National Rail says the ongoing electrical failure is impacting rail services in the Midlands, Greater Manchester and north-west of England, however, disruption is likely to spread much further.

Stations like Birmingham New Street and Manchester Piccadilly serve as major rail hubs for routes connecting wider areas of the UK.

National Rail is advising that additional train operators may be affected by disruption and has urged customers to check their whole journey before travelling.

West Midlands Railway, however, says it's currently reporting "normal service" on routes.

National Rail also advises passengers to retain their tickets, regardless of delays, as they may be eligible for compensation.

We've just had the following update from the Bee Network:

"Due to a power failure at the Manchester Rail Operating Centre (ROC), there is major disruption on the rail network across Greater Manchester, the north west of England and the Midlands.

"Delays and cancellations are expected on all operator routes across Greater Manchester until the end of today (Thursday 6th August). Rail operators have issued a do not travel notice with travel advice and the latest information on the National Rail website.

"Ticket acceptance is in place on all Bee Network buses and Metrolink services across Greater Manchester for rail passengers affected. More information can be found on the TfGM website."

The Bee Network - run by Transport for Greater Manchester - is Greater Manchester's integrated transport system, bringing services such as buses and trams under local public control.

Image source, EPA

London Northwestern Railway (LNR) says there is a power cut at Crewe, causing some of its services to be delayed or cancelled.

It says rail replacement services have been ordered for between Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street.

The initial statement from National Rail, announcing the disruption, said there had been a "failure of the electricity supply at a communications centre", without specifying where.

If your journey has been affected by the ongoing transport disruption across the Midlands and north-west of England, please do contact us.

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Rowan Bridge
North of England reporter

My colleague and I were due to get a train from Manchester Piccadilly to London at 13:30, only for that to be cancelled. We then felt quite smug, managing to (just) make the earlier 13:14 service.

But we’ve just spent about an hour and a quarter caught up in this disruption.

Our train came to a halt outside of Manchester, then made it to Macclesfield. And then came to another halt.

The conductor allowed people off the service at Macclesfield earlier because it wasn’t clear how long we would be waiting for.

Thankfully we’re back on the move - and appear to be through the worst of it.

According to National Rail, the rail companies impacted by the disruption include Avanti West Coast, East Midlands, Northern, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales.

National Rail has offered the following advice for customers impacted by cancellations and disruption:

• Avanti West Coast - Tickets for cancelled trains are valid for the two previous trains and the one following your cancelled booking. A full refund can be requested
• East Midlands Railway - Liverpool Lime Street / Nottingham / Norwich trains are unable to run between Sheffield and Liverpool Lime Street "until further notice" - other routes are running but may see delays of up to 60 minutes
• Northern - Do not travel, services are unable to run on multiple lines in the North West. Tickets will be accepted on Bee Network services
• TransPennine Express - Tickets are valid on Bee Network services and some CrossCountry, LNER, Metrolink and Northern services - check before travel
• Transport for Wales - Replacement buses to run between Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Piccadilly