Overhead Wire Damage near Shap Cuts West Coast Main Line Services

Rail passengers travelling on the West Coast Main Line through Cumbria are facing a day of disruption after damage to overhead electric wires in the Shap area forced line closures towards Carlisle.

The incident, located between Preston and Penrith (North Lakes), has resulted in a reduced service operating between Preston and Carlisle. Trains may be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or suspended altogether between Oxenholme Lake District and Penrith (North Lakes). A reduced timetable is expected to remain in place for the rest of the day.

Engineers will not be able to complete full repairs until overnight on Sunday due to the extent of the damage. This is intended to allow a full service to resume from Monday morning. Passengers are being advised to check for further updates before travelling.

Avanti West Coast advise that if your train is cancelled, your ticket is valid on one of the two Avanti West Coast services immediately before your booked train, or one of the two immediately after. Avanti West Coast tickets for services north of Preston dated Saturday 14 February can be used on Sunday 15 February via the same route. Mutual ticket acceptance is in place between Preston and Edinburgh / Glasgow Central with TransPennine Express in both directions until further notice at no extra cost.

TransPennine Express services are not expected to run through the affected area and services on the their routes may be cancelled, altered or delayed. Due to the severity of today’s disruption, TransPennine Express tickets for Saturday 14 February 2026 and Sunday 15 February 2026 between Preston- Edinburgh and Preston- Glasgow Central can be used on TransPennine Express services up to and including Monday 16 February 2026, at no extra cost.

Image: Avanti West Coast