Major travel disruption in Manchester after car crashes onto railway lines – driver arrested
A driver has been arrested – and commuters caught in major disruption – after a car smashed through a rail bridge in Greater Manchester and fell on to tracks.
The incident closed lines between Manchester and Liverpool this morning and stopped trains running to nearby Newton-le-Willows.
Services to Wigan North Western station have also been affected.
The incident happened at about 2am near Regents Road roundabout in Salford.
A man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving and taken to hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life-changing or life-threatening.
No other vehicles were involved.
While the road reopened at 7.30am, rail bosses are warning disruption will last until at least 1pm.
Trains operated by Northern, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales are affected.
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “No trains are able to run on the Chat Moss line between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly, impacting Transport for Wales, TransPennine Express and Northern train services.
“Our engineers are on site working with the British Transport Police to remove the vehicle from the tracks and are assessing the situation in order to repair the damaged cables as quickly as possible, however the line is expected to be closed for the majority of the day.
“We’re really sorry to any passengers affected by this incident and urge anyone planning to travel by train between Liverpool and Manchester to plan ahead and check with their train operator for the latest travel information.”