Northern customers advised to check before travel after flooding closes the railway between Wigan and Southport.

Lines remain closed while teams work to make the railway safe for passengers.

The emergency repair work is progressing well with the railway expected to reopen for trains to run from the start of service tomorrow (Thursday 8 October).

Richard Horobin, operations director for Network Rail’s North West route, said: “We’re sorry to passengers who continue to be impacted by the flooding between Wigan and Southport. Making the railway safe is our number one priority and my teams are working as fast as they can to get trains running again. I’d urge passengers to check before they travel at www.nationalrail.co.uk while we restore the railway after the recent relentless weather.”

Northern is running replacement bus services and an amended timetable today (Wednesday 7 October) while the repair work is carried out. This means:

• Services between Alderley Edge and Southport are operating between Alderley Edge and Parbold
• Services between Stalybridge and Southport are operating between Stalybridge and Wigan Wallgate.
• Rail replacement buses are operating between Wigan Wallgate and Southport – there are no through train services.

Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern, said: “We’re doing all we can, in partnership with colleagues at Network Rail, to keep our customers on the move. We’re operating trains where possible and have a good bus service in place to make sure travel between Wigan and Southport can carry on.

“The recent wet weather has caused significant problems for our customers in and around Wigan and I’d, again, like to thank them for their continued patience and understanding.”

Northern customers are advised to check www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest travel information.