Trains across Manchester and large parts of north-west England were brought to a standstill on Thursday afternoon after a major power failure at a key signalling centre, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and forcing hundreds of cancellations, Network Rail has confirmed.
The disruption began just before 2pm at the Manchester Rail Operating Centre, a control hub near Ashburys that houses the systems used to safely run trains, including signalling. The fault meant no trains could run between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria and Bolton. It severed some of the busiest stretches of track in the region, paralysing services across the North West.
