Thousands of commuters say they are experiencing travel ‘hell’ after a signalling fault brought trains to a halt and has plunged a major London station into chaos.
Hoards of travellers were seen looking in despair at information boards at London Euston station following an issue on the West Coast Main Line in the Stafford area.
Videos and photographs captured at the scene show the station packed to the hilt with travellers during Friday night’s rush hour.
Avanti West Coast has issued a ‘do not travel’ warning for all routes between London and Manchester, Liverpool, Holyhead and Preston.
Lines have since reopened but commuters are being warned of continuing cancellations and delays of up to 90 minutes.
A statement on the Avanti West Coast website said: ‘Cancellations and delays are expected until the end of the day due to a major fault with the signalling system earlier in the Stafford area.
‘This has affected multiple Avanti West Coast routes, including journeys to/from Manchester, Liverpool, Scotland and North Wales.
‘Please do not attempt to travel on these routes today due to this major disruption.’
The rail operator added that anyone with tickets dated for today can now use them tomorrow at no extra cost, on any Avanti West Coast service via the same route.
It urged people to avoid travelling to Euston while the disruption continues.
Several other train operators and routes have also been affected, including CrossCountry services between Manchester Piccadilly and Birmingham New Street, and Birmingham New Street to Oxford, Reading and the South Coast.
Northern services have also been disrupted between Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester Piccadilly.
This is a breaking news story, more follows.
