Liverpool fans who were travelling to the Carling Cup Final faced travel chaos yesterday after a train derailed in Cheshire.
The derailment meant that services from Liverpool Lime Street to Crewe were cancelled as the line was blocked.
At 03:45, one of Network Rail’s High Output Ballast Cleaning trains was working on the Up Main near Winsford, Cheshire.
First indications are that the tamping section of the train twisted a length of track, so that when the next bogie ran over that section it was derailed. It all happened at very low speed and there were no injuries.
Network Rail staff were mobilised to re-rail the bogie, and then the long train had to be split at the damaged section.
The parts of the train were pulled clear and the damage to the track repaired. The train could then be coupled back up and removed from the area.
To complete the repairs, a conventional rail tamper made two passes over the repaired track.
The route was reopened to traffic with a temporary speed restriction of 50mph at 15:18, and the limit was increased to 80mph at 17:10.
