Rail passengers have been warned not to travel on several key routes after winter weather hit chunks of the country. TransPennine Express (TPE) is urging passengers to avoid the following routes today, Sunday, January 5: Manchester Airport – Glasgow Central and Edinburgh via Preston and Manchester Airport – Leeds – York and Newcastle.
They said heavy snowfall has meant bus replacement services are unable to run for the planned engineering work. The snow is severely impacting roads and has led to the suspension of bus operations across the Pennines and North West.
For all other routes across the TPE network customers are advised to delay their journeys until later on today. They are also warned to be prepared for major disruption and possible postponement of journeys.
Customers with tickets across the affected routes can defer their journeys, and any tickets already purchased for travel on Sunday January 5 will be valid on Monday 6 January. Alternatively a full refund can be obtained at tpexpress.co.uk/help/refunds.
Chris Nutton, Major Projects & TRU Director for TransPennine Express said: “We are urging anyone today across the affected routes to defer their travel or claim a refund. As the Met Office predicted, snowfall of up to 40cm has impacted our network and the logistics behind it, such as the highways accessing our maintenance depots.
“We are working hard with our colleagues at Network Rail to restore services as quickly as possible.” Customers can check their services via the TPE website: www.tpexpress.co.uk/travel-updates or at www.nationalrail.co.uk