Problems near Shap summit tonight 14/2/2026

[Skiddaw]

I wondered why the line was so quiet!

Glad we did our Valentine's Weekend trip to Carlisle and back on Friday instead of yesterday (we went to an exhibition at Tullie in Carlisle, had lunch and a couple of drinks hence the train instead of driving). Still, at least when you're only going to Penrith you can get the bus.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

Were wires wrapped around train? Is there damage that prevented trains being moved over night?
Was a rescue loco with crew available to move said train?

NR and Avanti are normally good at getting stuff fixed/moved quickly, there may have been issues that is reading here do not know about.

I think the log said wires were touching the train, droppers were cut by OHLE staff but decision was to leave it overnight.

Repairs planned for tonight during a possession, roughly 4hrs estimated for the repairs.

 

[Carlisle]

Oh I'm not.

My point is more about the denial on here whenever the WCML's reliability is discussed.

Doesn’t help that it’s yet another Sunday LNER aren’t running through services to London either

 

[ABB125]

I've just had a text from Caledonian Sleeper saying that my journey on tonight's southbound highlander may be delayed by up to 2 hours. I assume this is related to the issues at Shap?

 

[Babybirdrobin]

Loss of air. Possession has had to be given up on lines A and B so services trapped behind can get into Euston.

Was still there at 0833 this morning
I was on it, fairly calm onboard actually and the staff definitely tried their best but it was dead in the water in the ende

 

[Mag_seven]

Was still there at 0833 this morning
I was on it, fairly calm onboard actually and the staff definitely tried their best but it was dead in the water in the ende

You were still on it at 08.33 this morning?

 

[Babybirdrobin]

You were still on it at 08.33 this morning?

No we got back to Euston on a 1Z99 formed of 390104 at about 0105 but the unit was still there according to traksy

 

[Aaron_TTL]

Been watching Traksy this evening, 1Z99 moved the TPE to the Tebay siding which then became 5S83 and terminated at the parcels platform at Preston.

1Z99 then moved back to the other train, moved it to the same siding and its now sat there as 5S85.

 

[pnepaul]

Dare I say well done to Avanti for using single line working from Tebay to Shap summit to keep their services going.

 

[Peter0124]

Tomorrow I'm booked on a morning southbound service, is it likely to run?

 

[Tetragon213]

Tomorrow I'm booked on a morning southbound service, is it likely to run?

Unlikely, looks like there's been yet another f-up, which has resulted in massive disruption. Looks to be yet another OLE fault.

 

[Russel]

Unlikely, looks like there's been yet another f-up, which has resulted in massive disruption. Looks to be yet another OLE fault.

I think what is most surprising is that Avanti haven't rolled out the good old "Don Not Travel" message.

 

[voyagerdude220]

Unlikely, looks like there's been yet another f-up, which has resulted in massive disruption. Looks to be yet another OLE fault.

Where have you got that information from?
A message I've seen posted by TPE states that they expect services on the West Coast to be back to normal tomorrow, with the exception of one of their trains which has already been cancelled tomorrow morning.

 

[Tetragon213]

Where have you got that information from?
A message I've seen posted by TPE states that they expect services on the West Coast to be back to normal tomorrow, with the exception of one of their trains which has already been cancelled tomorrow morning.

I'm just relaying what I've heard through the grapevine from a family member who is currently stuck in Preston after their train was cancelled.

Embarrassingly, this was the first time in many years she's taken a train, after I'd convinced her to give it a chance, and that the days of insane delays were over. Looks like the railway has made yet another anti-convert, and made me personally look like a bloody fool.

 

[Acathater]

How much notice do they need to reinstate the S&C diversions?

 

[ABB125]

Southbound Highland sleeper has sailed through Shap 17 minutes early (having been 20 late leaving Edinburgh) so I'd guess that whatever issues there were have now been fixed

 

[GordonT]

I'm just relaying what I've heard through the grapevine from a family member who is currently stuck in Preston after their train was cancelled.

Perhaps a reactionary delay from the earlier (and by then resolved) problems at Shap. Lack of onward crew for example. Whatever the reason it won't have been much comfort to affected passengers. As others have commented, Avanti at least managed to run a proportion of services north of Preston using single line working rather than totally bailing out for the duration.

 

[Tetragon213]

Perhaps a reactionary delay from the earlier (and by then resolved) problems at Shap. Lack of onward crew for example. Whatever the reason it won't have been much comfort to affected passengers. As others have commented, Avanti at least managed to run a proportion of services north of Preston using single line working rather than totally bailing out for the duration.

No comfort at all. Another day, another West Coast disaster.

Now I'm dealing with a delay repay claim, a seatfrog enquiry, and a very angry family member who is now telling me that I'm "an idiot", that she "shouldn't have listened to me", and that "trains are awful".

Well done to the railway for permanently turning off yet more people away from it.

 

[The Planner]

Dare I say well done to Avanti for using single line working from Tebay to Shap summit to keep their services going.

Not just Avanti that facilitates that though.

 

[voyagerdude220]

No comfort at all. Another day, another West Coast disaster.

Now I'm dealing with a delay repay claim, a seatfrog enquiry, and a very angry family member who is now telling me that I'm "an idiot", that she "shouldn't have listened to me", and that "trains are awful".

Well done to the railway for permanently turning off yet more people away from it.

Today's disruption is beyond the Railway's control. Emergency services dealing with an incident near Carluke.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

No comfort at all. Another day, another West Coast disaster.

Now I'm dealing with a delay repay claim, a seatfrog enquiry, and a very angry family member who is now telling me that I'm "an idiot", that she "shouldn't have listened to me", and that "trains are awful".

Well done to the railway for permanently turning off yet more people away from it.

No offence but their anger towards you is their issue. I wouldn't let a family member speak to me like that!

There's not a lot that can be done is wires come down on top of a train. The recovery of the passengers on the night it happened was done well, and at good speed.

You could argue that the repair could have been done sooner, rather than having an entire day with very limited service.

But delays happen with air travel, train travel and on motorways when crashes happen. The only mode of transport that tends not to be affected by delays is by foot!

 

[185143]

No offence but their anger towards you is their issue. I wouldn't let a family member speak to me like that!

There's not a lot that can be done is wires come down on top of a train. The recovery of the passengers on the night it happened was done well, and at good speed.

You could argue that the repair could have been done sooner, rather than having an entire day with very limited service.

But delays happen with air travel, train travel and on motorways when crashes happen. The only mode of transport that tends not to be affected by delays is by foot!

I certainly wouldn't be helping with the delay repay either!

I've had a few major rail delays in my time. Some of which were within the control of the railway, but sadly fair few have been fatalities. Either being stuck in the chaos that follows, or being on the train involved.

I've also been messed around by Ryanair at Birmingham resulting in a near 3 hour delay due to an aircraft fault, had to switch coaches on Megabus when ours broke down (which to be fair, they dealt with really well. Delayed the Nottingham by 10 minutes or so, put us on that, pulled the coach off the motorway at Rugby and then dropped us off at the bus depot. Another coach came straight out and took us to Manchester.

And more crucially, I've been caught up in motorway closures more than once, one of which made me nearly 3 hours late for work. I've never been that late for work on trains, and I usually only drive when I absolutely have to as it's often such a miserable experience driving through Central Manchester. So, statistically speaking given I spend far, far more time travelling by rail than any other mode, trains are infinitely more reliable.

I think it's psychological in part. You're in control when you drive, obviously on a train you aren't. Plus given it's often more expensive to take the train than drive, people do quite understandably expect a higher standard then they often get.

 

[Tetragon213]

No offence but their anger towards you is their issue. I wouldn't let a family member speak to me like that!

There's not a lot that can be done is wires come down on top of a train. The recovery of the passengers on the night it happened was done well, and at good speed.

You could argue that the repair could have been done sooner, rather than having an entire day with very limited service.

But delays happen with air travel, train travel and on motorways when crashes happen. The only mode of transport that tends not to be affected by delays is by foot!

When you consider she arrived into Glasgow at stupid o clock in the morning, and had to pay for a taxi to the her to her onward destination, I'm not surprised she was angry.

Doubly so, as I was the one who'd tried to convince her to give rail another chance. The last time she went long distance, her train was cancelled around Stafford and she spent hours waiting in the cold for the next train as the 2nd train was also cancelled. She swore never to take a train again, and that was nearly a decade ago. Now I look like a complete and utter fool for throwing her back into the exact same situation as the first time around.

I personally can count on one hand how many flights I've had in my life where we were more than 30 minutes late. Meanwhile with rail, I feel as if half the time I'm arriving at my hotel and immediately opening my laptop not to work, but to put in a claim for delay repay...

 

[Chrism20]

No comfort at all. Another day, another West Coast disaster.

Now I'm dealing with a delay repay claim, a seatfrog enquiry, and a very angry family member who is now telling me that I'm "an idiot", that she "shouldn't have listened to me", and that "trains are awful".

Well done to the railway for permanently turning off yet more people away from it.

If the seat frog enquiry is for the delay repay you just add the ticket onto the Avanti delay repay form and they deal with it with a refund for the ticket and the delay issued as one.

 

[bleeder4]

No comfort at all. Another day, another West Coast disaster.

Now I'm dealing with a delay repay claim, a seatfrog enquiry, and a very angry family member who is now telling me that I'm "an idiot", that she "shouldn't have listened to me", and that "trains are awful".

Well done to the railway for permanently turning off yet more people away from it.

I've had the same issues with most of my family members over the years. Now I'm the only one in the family that still uses trains. The others have given up with them and think I'm barmy for persisting, and I've given up trying to convince them again.

 

[hexagon789]

When you consider she arrived into Glasgow at stupid o clock in the morning, and had to pay for a taxi to the her to her onward destination, I'm not surprised she was angry.

Doubly so, as I was the one who'd tried to convince her to give rail another chance. The last time she went long distance, her train was cancelled around Stafford and she spent hours waiting in the cold for the next train as the 2nd train was also cancelled. She swore never to take a train again, and that was nearly a decade ago. Now I look like a complete and utter fool for throwing her back into the exact same situation as the first time around.

I personally can count on one hand how many flights I've had in my life where we were more than 30 minutes late. Meanwhile with rail, I feel as if half the time I'm arriving at my hotel and immediately opening my laptop not to work, but to put in a claim for delay repay...

It's just bad luck on their part, two journeys in a decade is hardly representative.

My worst transport delay remains by air travel by some margin.

My worst rail delay to this day is still under 2 hours.

I recently made a long, four connection/five train journey and in spite of a brief delay approaching York and the final train being delayed near Sheffield, I was only 6 mins late to destination.

Two trips over 10+ years are not representative of the many dozens of journeys by rail people make without incident.

(You must also have the patience of a Saint to agree to do their Delay Repay claim after their treatment of you; frankly I too would leave them to it.)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Feb 2026 ==

I've had the same issues with most of my family members over the years. Now I'm the only one in the family that still uses trains. The others have given up with them and think I'm barmy for persisting.

Well that's their problem, I'd be beyond giving a damn at that stage.

 

[Tetragon213]

If the seat frog enquiry is for the delay repay you just add the ticket onto the Avanti delay repay form and they deal with it with a refund for the ticket and the delay issued as one.

She had (at my suggestion) used Seatfrog for an upgrade, which obviously wasn't fully used as they kicked everyone off the train at Preston before stuffing them into a coach, then kicked them off onto another coach, then kicked them out for taxis.

I've had the same issues with most of my family members over the years. Now I'm the only one in the family that still uses trains. The others have given up with them and think I'm barmy for persisting, and I've given up trying to convince them again.

Indeed. I've not made myself look like such a fool in a long time.

It's just bad luck on their part, two journeys in a decade is hardly representative.

My worst transport delay remains by air travel by some margin.

My worst rail delay to this day is still under 2 hours.

I recently made a long, four connection/five train journey and in spite of a brief delay approaching York and the final train being delayed near Sheffield, I was only 6 mins late to destination.

Two trips over 10+ years are not representative of the many dozens of journeys by rail people make without incident.

(You must also have the patience of a Saint to agree to do their Delay Repay claim after their treatment of you; frankly I too would leave them to it.)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Feb 2026 ==


Well that's their problem, I'd be beyond giving a damn at that stage.

And? My worst delay in travel (in my life to date) has been by rail; 4.5 hours delayed into King's Cross, which was spent crammed like a sardine in a vestibule with my feet screaming in pain (a typical XC experience). I fly regularly in and out of Hong Kong, and even British Airways treated us better in economy than ClownCountry did for me in First.

The worst bit was, I had to sit and watch several other trains going to my destination leave without me, as my tickets was "not valid" on them. That permanently turned me off Lumo.

And as I currently go to Sheffield today on 16/02, my own train is... drumroll please... LATE! currently 48L on a service into Sheffield out of Brum because of "operational incidents".

The railway is becoming farcical at this point.

 

[DarloRich]

The worst bit was, I had to sit and watch several other trains going to my destination leave without me, as my tickets was "not valid" on them. That permanently turned me off Lumo.

Is your British Airways ticket valid on Virgin or Cathy?

 

[hexagon789]

Is your British Airways ticket valid on Virgin or Cathy?

Quite.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yesterday I was on the delayed 1604 Carlisle-Euston (should have been on the 1711 but it was cancelled north of Preston). One thing that stood out was that it lost several minutes at each station through what felt like incredibly sloppy station operations, something that seems to be typical of Avanti these days. Most notably the crew change at Preston took a lot longer than it really needed to. The effect of this (not the Preston stop itself, but other ones) is that a "via Birmingham" service starting from Preston (what would have been the 1711 from Carlisle) which was as of Lancaster a fairly comfortable 5-10 minute connection (I forget exactly) was missed both there and at Stafford as it got out in front. (The 1604 should have gone via Brum but didn't due to the delay). And I only made it onto the WMT at Crewe due to that being delayed a few minutes while the Avanti faffed for a while on green signals.

I get that if a train is very busy it takes longer, but at Preston it should have been a quick "you've got a wheelchair user in coach <whatever>, the footy lads in coach <whatever else> might be a problem, and I've declassified SP and 1st" and off, but it took several minutes as the delay was ticking up further. And the other stations were similarly just faffing.

It's as if they give up caring once a substantial delay occurs rather than putting serious effort into recovery as really should happen.

The one thing I would compliment them for was not cancelling all the Edinburghs north of Preston given that they were full of displaced East Coast passengers.