Emergency Incident Between Preston and Wigan North Western Halts Trains

Rail services between Preston and Wigan North Western railway station were suspended earlier while emergency services responded to an incident on the line.

All routes through the affected section were currently blocked, meaning trains were unable to run in either direction. As a result, services were being cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised while the situation was dealt with.

The disruption impacted a number of key intercity and regional routes, including:

• Avanti West Coast between Edinburgh / Glasgow Central / Lancaster / Birmingham New Street and London Euston
• Northern between Blackpool North and Liverpool Lime Street
• TransPennine Express between Glasgow Central / Oxenholme Lake District and Liverpool Lime Street

Service alterations were in place, with some ticket acceptance arranged and rail replacement transport being deployed where possible to help passengers complete their journeys.

Disruption was expected to continue until around 11:15 and the line was later reopened.

It was later confirmed that a person had sadly died.

British Transport Police released the following statement:

"We received a report of a casualty on the tracks near Wigan at 1.35am on May 5. Officers and paramedics attended and sadly a person was pronounced dead at the scene. Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances leading to the person’s death."

Image: Network Rail