Passengers warned of major disruption between Lancaster and Barrow-in-Furness after train derails near hole in ground

Network Rail is working with multiple agencies to find out how the train came off the track at around 6am Friday morning (March 22).

Four passengers and four members of staff were safely evacuated from the train, but the railway will be closed for some time in both directions impacting all services between Lancaster and Barrow-in-Furness.

Passengers are urged to check National Rail Enquiries at https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ as there will be a significant number of unavoidable cancellations over the coming days.

As is standard practice with any train derailment, inspectors from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch will have to examine the scene before any efforts can be made to remove the train and make railway repairs.

Engineers have discovered a void in the ground has opened around 150m away from the derailment location, which is unusual in its nature.

The team are working hard to investigate the cause. Ground conditions at the site are extremely wet.

Network Rail are also advising members of the public to stay away from the location to allow responders to carry out their work safely.

Chris Pye, Network Rail’s North West route infrastructure director, said: “At around 6am this morning, a Northern train travelling towards Barrow derailed near Grange-over-Sands station. All passengers and staff have been safely escorted from the train.

“All lines through this area remain blocked meaning trains are currently unable to run between Barrow-in-Furness and Lancaster.

“We're really sorry for the disruption. Passengers are encouraged to please check with Northern or National Rail Enquiries for the latest travel information including alternative travel arrangements.”

Craig Harrop, regional director for Northern, said: “Earlier this morning, a Northern train travelling towards Barrow came off the tracks near Grange-over-Sands station. There were four customers and four Northern colleagues on board. Everyone been safely escorted from the train.

“We are focusing on supporting colleagues and customers who were involved in the incident and on minimising the disruption this incident will cause to other services. We're working closely with Network Rail and others to understand more about what happened.

"No trains are running between Barrow-in-Furness and Lancaster and there will be significant disruption to our services in this area. Customers should look on our website or speak to a member of our team for more information."

For the latest updates on the incident, passengers can follow the Network Rail Lancashire and Cumbria X account (formerly Twitter) on @NetworkRailLC.

For up-to-date travel information and detail on alternative travel please check https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ or https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/service-updates