'Severe weather' from Storm Goretti causes rail disruption as Liverpool Lime Street services cancelled

Rail passengers will face major disruption today, with operators such as East Midlands Railways, TransPennine Express, Avanti West Coast, Transport for Wales and Northern, cancelling services or suspended trains early due to Storm Goretti.

Storm Goretti will move across the UK today (January 9), bringing strong winds, ice, snow and heavy rain to much of the country.

The Met Office has issued a raft of weather warnings for ice and snow - including amber alerts - with a yellow snow warning in force from 5.00pm today until 12.00pm tomorrow (January 10) in nearby Manchester and Lancashire.

While it looks like Liverpool will miss the worst of the wintry weather - with Merseyside not currently included in the weather warnings - the city and its surrounding areas will be impacted by major rail disruption.

- Get the biggest stories from Merseyside in your inbox with Liverpool World’s free newsletter emails.

Multiple services between Liverpool Lime Street and Avanti West Coast have already been cancelled, while many other train companies are stopping services this afternoon.

Below is everything you need to know about the disruption.

East Midlands Railway disruption

Hope Valley, the line between Sheffield and Manchester, will be closed from 6.00pm today until the start of service on Saturday, January 10. This means that East Midlands Railway services cannot run between Sheffield and Manchester for most of today and all of Friday, January 9.

• The 9.52am Norwich to Liverpool Lime Street service (which departs Sheffield at 1.43pm) will be the last East Midlands Railway train towards Manchester and Liverpool.
• The 3.51pm Liverpool Lime Street to Norwich service will be the last East Midlands Railway train from Liverpool and Manchester towards Sheffield, Nottingham and Norwich.

Due to the weather conditions, there will be no rail replacement buses running between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield in either direction.

TransPennine Express (TPE) disruption

The route between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield via Stockport will be closed from 6.00pm today until the end of the day on Friday, January 9. During this time, no trains will operate on this route.

During this closure, services between Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes will run only between the following stations, in both directions:

• Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Oxford Road
• Sheffield and Cleethorpes

Be aware that due to the weather conditions, there will be no rail replacement buses running between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield in both directions.

Northern disruption

Starting from approximately 6.00pm the following routes will be suspended:

• Between Guide Bridge and Glossop / Hadfield
• Between Hazel Grove and Buxton
• Between New Mills Central and Sheffield

The above routes will remain suspended until the end of the day on Friday, January 9.

A spokesperson for Northern said: “You are strongly advised not to travel.

“We advise people travelling on these routes to plan ahead and consider whether they will be able to make a return journey tomorrow before 18:00. No alternatives will be in place once the routes are closed. Tickets for after 18:00 will be accepted before the routes close. Additionally, refunds will be available for anyone who decides not to travel.”

Avanti West Coast disruption and cancellations

The 11.08am and 1.08pm services from Liverpool Lime Street to London Euston have been cancelled.

Avanti West Coast are also running fewer trains on some of their routes from 3.00pm today, with the 4.08pm and 6.08pm services from Liverpool Lime Street to Euston, and the 5.46pm. 7.07pm and 8.07pm from London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street cancelled.

A spokesperson for the rail operator said: “Please be aware that across the network, trains that do run may be delayed, cancelled or altered at late notice due to the severe weather.

“If you have an Avanti West Coast ticket dated Thursday 8 January, you can use it to travel at any time on today, 8 January on the same route, at no extra cost. We strongly recommend travelling earlier in the day if you can, as the timetable reduction is due to start from 3.00pm in view of the weather forecast.”

Tickets will be accepted on the following routes at no extra cost:

• CrossCountry via any reasonable route from 3.00pm
• London Northwestern Railway between Liverpool Lime Street and Liverpool South Parkway and between Liverpool South Parkway and Crewe all day. You can also use services via any reasonable route from 3.00pm
• Northern via any reasonable route from 3.00pm
• Transport for Wales between Holyhead / Manchester Piccadilly and Crewe
• TransPennine Express via any reasonable route from 3.00pm

Transport for Wales disruption

Starting from approximately 3.00pm, services between Liverpool Lime Street and Chester will be suspended. You can use your ticket on any Merseyrail and Transport for Wales services between Liverpool Lime Street and Chester at no extra cost.

Between Bidston and Wrexham (Borderlands line) will also be affected but we don't have any additional information as of yet.

A statement from Transport for Wales noted: “Due to poor road conditions, no rail replacement services will operate on suspended routes.”