Merseyrail sorry for disruption caused by cold snap

Merseyrail said it was "truly sorry" for the cancellations and delays

Merseyrail has apologised to passengers for disruption due to the "extremely" cold weather as it said temperatures plummeted to -9C (16F) overnight in parts of the Liverpool City Region.

It said it was "truly sorry" for cancellations and delays to services.

It said it had worked hard overnight to protect services but rails and points had frozen up again.

Tickets are being accepted on buses and staff were working to get all services running as soon as possible, it added.

Snow and ice has caused travel disruption to road, rail and air travel across the UK over recent days with a number of weather warnings for ice and snow issued by the Met Office.

Merseyrail said people could receive reimbursements on the cost of their tickets via its website.

Jane English, the firm's acting manager director, said: "Overnight we have seen temperatures drop to extreme levels of cold, with -9C being recorded in parts of the Liverpool City Region.

"We apologise to all our passengers today, who have faced disruption and cancellations on their journeys.

"We work hard to keep our services running whatever the weather, and when we fail to reach our own high standards we are truly sorry."

• How long will the cold snap last?

She said Network Rail had used an anti-icer treatment overnight on conductor rails to prevent ice from freezing to them but rails and points had frozen again.

Merseyrail also had six trains travelling around the network in an attempt to keep them warm and ready for the start of service.

However, the extreme cold temperatures still affected some of those trains, she added.