A widespread power outage at the Manchester Rail Operating Centre caused significant disruption to rail services across the Midlands and north-west England on Thursday afternoon. The electricity supply failure occurred shortly before 2 p.m., affecting signalling and communication systems and forcing the immediate stoppage of all trains in the impacted area.

The outage affected multiple train operators, including Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, CrossCountry, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, TransPennine Express, and Transport for Wales. Several operators advised passengers not to travel, as services were either delayed, revised, or cancelled throughout the afternoon and evening. Disruption persisted into the evening, with some travelers forced to book hotel accommodation.

Network Rail confirmed that the failure knocked Manchester’s Rail Operating Centre offline. This facility, located near Ashburys station, is one of 12 control centers responsible for managing rail traffic across Britain. It oversees the rail network for north-west England and is planned to control the entire area by 2034. The outage was reportedly prolonged due to delays in connecting the back-up power supply, which hindered restoration efforts.

Passengers were stranded at stations across the region, including Birmingham New Street, where commuter Bradley Black described being unable to continue his journey as trains heading north were cancelled. Network Rail North West route director Chris Wright apologized for the disruption and said crews were working to resolve the issue.

Compounding the rail delays, a wartime bomb was discovered near the railway line between Tamworth and Burton-on-Trent, resulting in blockage of all lines in that section and further impacting services.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was receiving regular updates from Network Rail and warned that disruption was expected to continue for the remainder of the day, advising passengers to check travel plans before setting out. Officials have not ruled out potential ongoing impact into the following day.

An independent rail watchdog representative encouraged affected passengers to seek compensation through Delay Repay where eligible.

Overall, the power cut highlighted vulnerabilities in the rail network’s infrastructure and underscored the critical role of the Manchester Rail Operating Centre in managing train movements across a large portion of northern England. Recovery efforts remained ongoing as rail operators worked to resume normal services.