Moment wrecked car is pulled from train tracks after crashing onto railway line

A car crashing onto train tracks has caused travel chaos in central Manchester today. Police said the crash happened at Regent Road roundabout, in Salford, before it went through road barriers and plummeted onto the tracks below.

All railway lines between Newton-le-Willows and Manchester have been closed today. The incident is also affecting trains between Wigan North Western and Manchester. Services will be cancelled throughout the day.

A GMP spokesperson said: "GMP responded to a collision on Regent Road in Salford this morning at around 2am (Friday, February 7 2025), following reports of a road traffic collision involving one car on the railway line near Regent Road roundabout in Salford. Emergency service colleagues attended and one man in his 30s was taken to hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life- changing or life-threatening.

"A man in his 30s has been arrested on suspicion of drink driving. There is still a police scene in place on Regent Road and we continue to work with British Transport Police and Network Rail to conduct initial enquiries.

"We apologise for any disruption and we thank the public for their patience as we work in the area." The car is currently being lifted from the tracks, but repair work will take place this afternoon.

Footage of the recovery operation to remove the crumpled and stricken vehicle from the tracks shows police at the taped off track-side scene while recovery crews and their equipment operate below. At one point, and officer appears to say the crews below have "flipped" the car, presumably to aid its removal.

Later in the video, a recovery vehicle pulls the damaged car along the tracks closely followed by a recovery team wearing fluorescent clothing and hard