Train derails on major route sparking chaos for thousands of passengers as 'do not travel' alert issued
Passengers are being urged not to travel
PA
A freight train has derailed on a major route between England and Scotland, with passengers urged to avoid travelling.
Rail services have been cancelled and delayed after the incident happened on the West Coast Main Line between Carlisle and Oxenholme Lake District.
Very limited train services remain, with passengers being told to expect delays through the rest of the morning with a 'do not travel' alert being issued.
Some lines are blocked and a very limited train service is running on the line that remains open.
Network Rail has shared pictures of the derailed train
Network Rail
The alert has been issued by train operators Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express.
A spokesman for Avanti West Coast said: "Please do not attempt to travel with us between Preston and Scotland today."
A spokesman from Transpennine Express said: "Due to an extremely limited train service as well as difficulty in sourcing road transport, customers travelling between Preston and Glasgow Central and between Preston and Edinburgh in both directions are advised not to travel."
Ticket holders who have been impacted by the incident can delay journeys until Friday or travel with other operators.
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Carlisle Railway Station
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Network Rail said they were working to remove the derailed train.
A spokesman added: "Sorry to passengers whose journeys have been impacted while we work to safely reopen the line as quickly as possible."
Meanwhile, Northern said buses were replacing trains between Newcastle and Hexham and Carlisle, due to a landslip in the Corbridge area.
The incident was resolved at about 8am.
The derailed train on the West Coast Line
Network Rail
Avanti West Coast has said it does not know when disruption is likely to end after last night's derailment.
Replying to one passenger on Twitter who thought disruption would end at 2pm it said: "We haven't given a time as to when this disruption is likely to end.
"We have issued do not travel advice to customers, with their ticket valid for travel tomorrow."