Major disruption for Bolton commuters after rail power failure

Several trains to and from Bolton have been delayed, with some services running more than 30 minutes behind schedule as passengers face delays during the afternoon.

According to National Rail, the problem has been caused by a failure of the electricity supply at a rail communications centre, affecting signalling and operational systems across parts of Greater Manchester, the Midlands and the North West.

The disruption is impacting several train operators, including Northern, Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, Merseyrail, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales.

Responding to passengers on social media platform X, Northern warned that services were likely to be delayed because of the power outage.

In one reply, the operator said: “It is likely to be delayed due to the power outage. I am sorry for the disruption this will cause.”

Northern also apologised to affected passengers, adding: “We are really sorry for the disruption to your journey.

“Please make sure to apply for a refund by calling us on 0800 200 6060 or emailing sales.support@northernrailway.co.uk.”

The train operator said the power failure had also affected its control building, making it difficult to arrange alternative travel for passengers.

A spokesperson added: “The power issue is affecting all lines and our control building so we are unsure when any alternatives would be able to be booked at this time.

“We are working to get this fixed as soon as we can.”

National Rail said the incident was first reported shortly after 2pm and warned that trains could continue to be cancelled, delayed or revised while engineers work to restore power.

Disruption is currently expected to continue until around 4pm, although this could change.

Passengers travelling to or from Bolton are being urged to allow extra time for their journeys and check the latest travel information before setting off.

Those delayed may also be entitled to claim compensation through their train operator’s Delay Repay scheme.