Major disruption hits Birmingham New Street station
Damage to an overhead wire has severely impacted the major West Midlands transport hub.
Affected train operators include CrossCountry, Avanti West Coast, London Northwestern Railway, Transport for Wales and West Midlands Railway.
Routes to the surrounding area, including Coventry, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Rugeley are all facing severe delays, cancellations and diversions.
In an online statement, National Rail wrote that 'major disruption' at Birmingham New Street is expected 'until the end of the day'.
It said: 'There is damage to the overhead electric wires in the Birmingham New Street area. This means some lines in/out of Birmingham New Street are blocked.
'Most platforms are unavailable at Birmingham New Street due to an issue with the overhead electric wires. Network Rail are on site assessing the situation. Further updates will follow as soon as information is available.
'If you are travelling, your journey may not run its full route, and may be cancelled or be severely delayed by up to 120 minutes.'
Some lines have now reopened, but passengers may find that journeys are not running their full routes, and may still be cancelled or be severely delayed by up to 120 minutes.
Affected routes
Avanti West Coast between London Euston and Wolverhampton / Edinburgh, and also between Birmingham New Street and Glasgow Central / Edinburgh.
CrossCountry between Plymouth and Derby, between Bournemouth and Birmingham New Street / Manchester Piccadilly, between Cardiff Central and Birmingham New Street, and also between Birmingham New Street and York.
London Northwestern Railway between London Euston / Northampton and Birmingham New Street, between Coventry and Birmingham New Street / Liverpool Lime Street, and also between Birmingham New Street and Crewe.
Transport for Wales between Birmingham International and Chester, and also between Birmingham New Street and Aberystwyth / Shewsbury / Crewe / Holyhead.
West Midlands Railway between Hereford / Great Malvern and Birmingham New Street, between Redditch / Longbridge and Four Oaks, between Redditch and Birmingham New Street, between Bromsgrove and Lichfield Trent Valley, between Birmingham International and Birmingham New Street / Rugeley Trent Valley, between Birmingham International and Wolverhampton, between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton / Shrewsbury, between Birmingham New Street / Wolverhampton and Walsall, and also between Wolverhampton and Hednesford / Rugeley Trent Valley.
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