Delays after derailment near Wigan railway station

Disruption is expected until 18:00 BST

A track maintenance machine has derailed in a town causing disruption expected to last several hours.

The machine has blocked the lines between Wigan North Western and St Helens Central since the incident at 11:45 BST.

National Rail said trains would be cancelled, delayed by about 30 minutes or revised until about 18:00 BST.

Northern and TransPennine Express services have both been impacted by the derailment.

Bus services

Network Rail said the machine derailed "at slow speed" and no-one was injured.

A spokesperson said: "We're working closely with the operator and others to understand more about what happened."

Routes affected include:

• Northern route between Blackpool North and Wigan North Western and Liverpool Lime Street

• Northern route between Barrow-in-Furness, Windermere and Manchester Airport,

• TransPennine Express route between Glasgow Central and Liverpool Lime Street

Replacement bus services have been put in place for some services from Wigan North Western.

National Rail posted details of alternate journeys on its website.

Passengers faced two weeks of delays after a train derailed near Grange-over-Sands in March.

A Northern train travelling towards Barrow, in Cumbria, came off the tracks, leading to four passengers and four members of staff being evacuated from the train.