曼彻斯特信号中心周四下午发生电力故障，导致英国西北地区铁路服务大规模瘫痪[1]。这一事故影响了Avanti West Coast、East Midlands Railway、Northern、TransPennine Express和Transport for Wales等多家运营商，Greater Manchester、中部及西北英格兰地区受冲击最为严重，数千名乘客行程被迫中断[1]。
周五局面仍未完全好转。Network Rail西北地区主任Chris Wright表示，工程师通宵工作恢复信号系统，大部分服务周五早晨已恢复运营[1]。不过，National Rail建议周五中午前仍可能出现延误[1]，Northern Rail呼吁乘客在上午10点前不要出行[1]，TransPennine Express则建议乘客做好中午前遭遇混乱的准备[1]。作为2014年投入运营的全国信号运营中心之一，曼彻斯特信号中心原本设计用于最终管理整个英国铁路网络[1]。此外，Tamworth和Burton-on-Trent之间铁路附近发现的二战炸弹进一步加剧了周四的混乱局面[1]。
A power failure at Manchester's signalling centre triggered widespread chaos across Britain's rail network, with disruptions extending into a second day.[1] The outage occurred shortly before 2 p.m. on Thursday afternoon at the Manchester signalling centre, one of twelve operational control hubs opened in 2014 and designed to eventually manage the entire UK rail network.[1] The failure forced multiple train operators—including Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, Northern, TransPennine Express, and Transport for Wales—to cancel or delay services across Greater Manchester, the Midlands, and north-west England, leaving thousands of passengers unable to complete their journeys.[1]
On Friday, disruptions persisted despite efforts to restore normal operations. Network Rail's north-west director Chris Wright stated that engineers had worked through the night to restore the signalling system, with most services resuming by Friday morning.[1] However, National Rail advised that delays remained possible until midday, while Northern Rail recommended passengers avoid travelling before 10 a.m., and TransPennine Express cautioned customers to expect disruption until noon.[1] The initial chaos on Thursday was further compounded by the discovery of a Second World War bomb near railway tracks between Tamworth and Burton-on-Trent, which deepened the day's disruptions.[1]