Commuters between two major cities are facing huge travel chaos after a car plunged on to the railway tracks.
No trains can run on the Chat Moss line – which connects Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly – until repairs are carried out.
Network Rail confirmed that all lines are closed between Manchester and Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, and expected disruption to continue until 10pm in their latest update.
They had previously predicted trains could be running by the early afternoon but the ‘significant damage to the overhead lines’ will take ‘at least eight hours to repair once the site has been cleared’.
The car crashed through the side of a bridge in Salford and was seen lying upside down on the railway tracks below, with concrete debris from the bridge lying around it.
The vehicle has since been hoisted from the tracks by a crane, with Network Rail sharing that they ‘can now repair damage to overhead lines’.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed that a man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of drink driving.
He was also taken to ‘hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life-changing or life-threatening’, they added.

A car crashed through a bridge in Salford in the early hours of this morning, landing on the railway tracks below

Emergency services have been responding all morning with engineers at the scene working to remove the crashed car

A road railer was seen hoisting the smashed vehicle from the track and removed

Network Rail shared an image of the road railer at work removing the car from the tracks
British Transport Police said ‘enquiries into the incident are ongoing’.
Emergency services rushed to Regents Road roundabout in the early hours of the morning.
Network Rail apologised to passengers who were travelling between Liverpool and Manchester, explaining that ‘due to a police incident overnight involving a vehicle on the line at Salford no trains are running’.
They added that ‘significant damage’ has been made to the tracks as well as the overhead cables.
A rail replacement bus service has also been set up for affected passengers.
National Rail said customers can use their ticket on the replacement services.
Buses will run at 30 minutes past every hour between Newton-le-Willows and Manchester Victoria.
The last service was said to leave at 12.30.

Teams of police and engineers attended the site this morning in efforts to remove the vehicle from the tracks

The crash caused significant damage to overhead cables and teams are working to clear the remainder of the damage

A road railer is vehicle that can drive both on the road and on tracks

Concrete debris from the bridge, broken glass and pieces of wire could be seen lying around the vehicle

Significant rail disruption is set to affect passengers for much of the day, officials have said

A Network Rail driver shared an image showing the damage seen from the tracks

An engineer looks down from the gap in the bridge as teams work to clear the debris


The area has been fenced off and the driver was arrested on suspicion of drink driving

Although the car has now been removed, there is still more to do to clear the debris and fix the overhead cables
Transport for Wales, TransPennine Express and Northern Rail also face significant disruption.
They added that passengers who need to travel through Manchester stations from Liverpool Lime Street can pass through Warrington Bank Quay.
The police also advised that there would be delays and road traffic affecting the A57 Regent Road, off the M602, this morning ‘while remedial works are carried out’.
Although the road was reopened at around 7.30 am, there were still vans and engineers attending the scene.
Network Rail said that ‘our engineers are on site working with the British Transport Police to remove the vehicle from the tracks’.
Teams have been seen abseiling down from the bridge, inspecting its structure as well as the condition of the vehicle.
Football fans have been advised to check ahead before travelling to Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium for the FA Cup match with Leicester.
The game is set to kick off at 8pm but disruptions are set to continue until 22.00 according to an update.