Rail services between northern England and Scotland have been severely disrupted after an Avanti West Coast train derailed near Shap in Cumbria this morning.
The 04:28 Glasgow–London Euston service left the tracks at around 06:10 between Penrith and Oxenholme Lake District.
Emergency services were quickly on the scene, with the North West Ambulance Service assessing 87 passengers and crew. Four people suffered minor injuries, but none required hospital treatment. It has now stood down its major incident status.
“Our colleagues have assessed a total of 87 patients, with only four suffering minor injuries,” said a North West Ambulance Service statement.
“No one required further hospital treatment, and all were discharged from the nearby rest centre.
“An operation remains in place with our partners as they continue to recover the scene.”
Sam MacDougall, director of operations at Network Rail, told a press conference this morning that the infrastructure operator is undertaking a “full and thorough” investigation into the cause of the derailment.
“Early indications would suggest that the train has struck a landslide just north of where it now stands,” Sam said.
“The train design has worked extremely well, the vehicle has remained upright,” he added.
The derailment is causing significant disruption on the Avanti West Coast and TransPenine Express services that use the West Coast Mainline. Both operators are urging passengers not to attempt to travel north of Preston today.
Trains will be much busier on east coast routes for passengers travelling to and from Scotland. National Rail has the latest updates on its website.
Tickets for affected trains are being accepted on CrossCountry, Northern, ScotRail trains and LNER trains on the East Coast Mainline.
Network Rail has confirmed that a “landslip” occurred in the area before the train derailed, but a spokesperson says they are still trying to determine whether the event was the cause of the service coming off the tracks.
It says major disruption on the West Coast Main Line will continue until the end of the day.
John Swinney, Scotland’s First Minister, said the derailment would have been a “terrifying experience” for passengers onboard.
He said he was “very concerned” about the incident but stressed that “rail travel is normally a very safe way of travel.”
“When these incidents happen, they are matters of enormous concern and require detailed investigation,” Mr Swinney said.
