Travel chaos after car crashes onto railway track in Manchester causing major rail lines to close

Police say a car crashed at Regent Road roundabout, in Salford, before landing on the train tracks beneath. All railway lines between Newton-le-Willows and Manchester are closed as a result. The incident is also affecting trains between Wigan North Western and Manchester.

Network Rail said: "We are sorry to passengers travelling between #Liverpool and #Manchester today. Due to a police incident overnight involving a vehicle on the line at Salford no trains are running."

The incident also affected the A57 Regent Road, off the M602. A GMP Traffic spokesperson wrote on X: "Regent Rd Roundabout, Salford. Please expect some delays this morning while remedial works are carried out following a 1 vehicle collision. There will also be disruption to the rail network as the car has landed on the train tracks. Driver arrested for positive breath sample."

A National Rail spokesperson added: "Due to the emergency services dealing with an incident between Newton-le-Willows / Wigan North Western and Manchester Oxford Road / Manchester Victoria all lines are currently closed. As a result, trains may be cancelled, delayed or diverted. Disruption is expected until 13:00." The road reopened by 7.30am but major rail disruption is expected throughout the day.

Michelle Adamson from BBC Radio Manchester is at the scene and says the car is "straddled across both tracks". She says the overhead line appears to have "buckled over" and looks to need "some serious repairs". She is being told that it will take a considerable part of the day to carry out repairs on this main line between Liverpool and Manchester.

British Transport Police said on X: "Driver arrested for positive breath sample”. It added that the driver was taken to hospital for assessment but is "not thought to be badly injured".