Travel warning as 'trespassers' cause rail disruption in Greater Manchester

Passengers are being warned to expect major disruption to rail services for the rest of the day in Greater Manchester. National Rail says a trespass incident on the line between Wigan and Salford is affecting several services in the region tonight (April 24).

All routes between Wigan Wallgate and Manchester are affected, with the line blocked this evening. Emergency services have been called out to the scene.

A number of rail replacement buses have been announced by Northern, while tickets are being accepted on alternative TransPennine Express and Merseyrail services. In a series of tweets this evening, a Northern spokesperson said: "Due to trespassers on the railway between Wigan Wallgate and Salford Crescent, the line is blocked.

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"Train services running through these stations will be cancelled or delayed by up to 30 minutes. We are currently awaiting an estimated arrival time for the emergency services.

"Customers may use Merseyrail services between Headbolt Lane and Liverpool stations until further notice. Customers may use TransPennine Express services between Manchester Victoria and Leeds (in both directions) until further notice.

"Ticket restrictions have been lifted during this disruption and customers may use alternative Northern services via any reasonable route to complete their journeys." Rail replacement buses are in use at Wigan Wallgate, Westhoughton and Salford Crescent.

An update on Northern's website at 8.45pm added: "British Transport Police are now on site and are attempting to resolve the situation, we currently do not have a time-scale for this. Due to the nature of this disruption services to/from Manchester