Power outage at Leeds Station leads to widespread rail disruption

Alex Moss,

Rachel RussellAnd

Grace Wood,Yorkshire

Grace Wood/BBC A train station hall filled with a large crowd of people, many carrying luggage or backpacks. There are digital screens on the walls showing information. — Many trains were canceled or faced delays

The power outage has caused major disruption to rail services at Leeds Station.

National Rail said the outage had caused a fault in the signaling system, which meant lines were now blocked and led to many services being canceled or postponed.

LNER services between London and Leeds and Bradford Forster Square were also affected, as well as all Northern, CrossCountry and TransPennine Express services.

Some services returned at 16:30 GMT but National Rail said the disruption was expected to last until 19:00.

Passengers cannot pass ticket barriers to access platforms

Grace Wood/BBC A crowd of people stood near the ticket gates at Leeds Station, unable to get past the ticket barriers and onto the platforms. Some are looking at their phones, some are standing. — Passengers cannot pass ticket barriers to access platforms

LNER said due to the severity of the disruption and the number of cancellations, customers were advised to postpone travel and use their tickets for services later or on Monday.

It was stated that passengers can use their tickets with other train companies without paying any extra fee.

Northern said none of its services currently run through Leeds, while TransPennine Express said lines between Manchester Victoria and York via Leeds were closed.

Both train operators said it was not a replacement for rail transport.

CrossCountry said there was “limited road transport” between York and Leeds.

Network Rail said the signaling failure was caused by a faulty cable and affected several platforms at Leeds Station from 10.50am.

A spokesman said: “Engineers attended the site and restored power by 1.20pm. “Some services have been canceled or postponed and passengers are advised to continue checking before travelling.

“We apologize for this disruption and thank our passengers for their patience.”

On the scene – Grace Wood, BBC Yorkshire

Hundreds of people are waiting at Leeds Station to see when and if they can travel today.

There’s an extra challenge facing travelers this morning as the city center hosts: 10 thousand races with more than 12,000 participants.

Katie had just started Abbey Dash and was waiting to return to Menston.

He said: “My train was canceled on the way here and how can I not go home?”

He said he wouldn’t wait any longer because he was starting to get cold in his shorts.

He added: “I was tempted to run home along the canal!”

Helen, from Bingley, was also at the event and was expecting to return home but said: “I’m definitely not looking to run back!”

Katie was waiting for the train home after completing the 10 kilometer race

A woman with brown hair tied back smiles at the camera as she stands among the crowd at Leeds Station — Katie was waiting for the train home after completing the 10 kilometer race

Other passengers affected included Gillian Potter, who was expected to be on the 13:05 service to King’s Cross, the first step of her more than 18-hour journey to Thailand.

He said: “I’m trying to stay calm because there’s nothing I can really do, right?”

Ms Potter, whose flight left Heathrow at 21:00 GMT, left her home near Wetherby early for her eight-week trip.

He said: “It’s a bit of a worry for me to get to my destination but I have my son with me and I was due to meet him at King’s Cross anyway so he rings them up and tells them I won’t be on the 1.05pm train.”

Meanwhile, the disruption, which affected other passengers as most trains were planned to travel via Leeds, had a knock-on effect at other stations, including Doncaster.