Passengers across the North West faced severe disruption on Saturday 29 November 2025 after a major signalling fault near Wigan brought parts of the rail network to a standstill.
A fault in the signalling system in the Wigan North Western area blocked all lines for several hours, hitting long‑distance services on the West Coast Main Line as well as busy local Northern routes through Wigan Wallgate. [1]
Local titles including Wigan Today and the Leigh Journal warned that Northern train services were facing delays of up to an hour, with cancellations and short‑notice alterations rippling out across Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Lancashire.
Key points at a glance
- Incident location: Wigan North Western area, affecting both Wigan North Western and Wigan Wallgate. [2]
- Cause: Fault with the signalling system, requiring Network Rail engineers on site. [3]
- When it started: Incident reported at 13:27 GMT on Saturday 29 November 2025. [4]
- When it was officially cleared: National Rail declared the incident resolved at 22:13 GMT, but residual delays continued as services recovered. [5]
- Operators affected: Northern, Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express (TPE). [6]
- Typical impact: Trains cancelled, diverted or delayed by up to 60 minutes, with some services not calling at Wigan at all. [7]
Major signalling fault shuts lines through Wigan
National Rail reported around lunchtime that a “fault with the signalling system” in the Wigan North Western area meant all lines were blocked, forcing train operators to halt or divert services through one of the key pinch points on the West Coast Main Line. [8]
Wigan Today described “major disruption” for rail passengers, with operators warning that problems would continue until the end of the day even once the initial fault had been fixed, because congestion and displaced trains would take time to work through the system. [9]
According to National Rail’s incident log, the fault was first recorded at 13:27 and not formally cleared until shortly after 22:10 GMT, underscoring just how long a single signalling failure can paralyse a busy section of railway. [10]
Which routes and operators were hit?
The disruption radiated far beyond Wigan itself because the town sits on key north–south and east–west rail corridors.
National Rail listed three operators and multiple routes as affected: [11]
- Avanti West Coast
- London Euston ↔ Blackpool North
- London Euston ↔ Glasgow Central
- London Euston ↔ Edinburgh
- Northern
- Liverpool Lime Street ↔ Wigan North Western / Blackpool North
- Blackburn ↔ Rainford
- Wigan Wallgate ↔ Leeds
- Southport ↔ Manchester Oxford Road
- TransPennine Express (TPE)
- Liverpool Lime Street ↔ Glasgow Central
Journey-checking tools used by Northern and TPE echoed the same picture, flagging that services “to/from/through both Wigan Wallgate and Wigan North Western” were being disrupted by the signalling fault, with engineers from Network Rail attending the scene. [12]
Avanti West Coast’s own live disruption feed showed several long‑distance services running non‑stop through Wigan or being started further north at Preston, missing out stops at Wigan North Western and Warrington Bank Quay to keep the wider timetable moving. [13]
Hour‑long delays and “end of day” disruption
Local media and operator updates consistently warned passengers to expect significant delays:
- National Rail and Wigan Today cited delays of up to 60 minutes, alongside cancellations and trains being “revised” – for example, starting or terminating away from Wigan. [14]
- Early forecasts suggested disruption would last until late afternoon, but subsequent updates extended this to “until the end of the day” as congestion built in the Wigan area. [15]
Even after National Rail marked the incident “resolved” at 22:13, journey planners showed knock‑on delays and stopping pattern changes as operators worked trains and crews back into position. [16]
The Leigh Journal summed up the experience for many Northern passengers with its headline warning that “Northern train services face hour delays”, reflecting just how widespread the impact was on local stopping services as well as long‑distance trains.
Ticket acceptance and Bee Network buses
With trains cancelled or skipping stops at Wigan, operators activated ticket acceptance measures to keep people moving.
Wigan Today reported that: [17]
- Rail tickets were being honoured on alternative routes, as set out on the National Rail website.
- Passengers could also use certain Bee Network buses in the affected area, providing an extra link for those stranded when Wigan North Western or Wallgate were temporarily inaccessible.
The Bee Network – Transport for Greater Manchester’s integrated system of buses, trams and, eventually, local rail – already includes franchised bus routes in Bolton and Wigan, making bus substitution a more seamless option than in the past. [18]
However, bus replacements and diversions inevitably lengthened journey times. Northern’s journey updates noted that where buses were in use on other routes, “normal journey times are extended by approximately 60 minutes” – a figure that mirrors the delays seen around Wigan on Saturday. [19]
How to navigate the disruption if you’re travelling
For anyone still travelling late on Saturday evening – or planning to head out early on Sunday – rail operators issued familiar but important advice:
- Check before you travel
- Allow extra time and be flexible
- With trains and crews out of position after a nine‑hour signalling fault, short‑notice changes are likely even after the incident is officially closed.
- If you have a flexible ticket, consider travelling earlier or later than planned to avoid peak disruption.
- Use alternative routes where possible
- Some North West journeys can be re‑routed via Manchester, Preston or alternative local lines that have recovered more quickly.
- Where ticket acceptance on Bee Network buses is in place, check local information before boarding to ensure your route is included. [22]
- Claim compensation if you’re delayed
- Avanti West Coast reminds customers they can claim compensation if their train arrives 15 minutes or more late, via its Delay Repay portal – a policy mirrored by other long‑distance and regional operators. [23]
- National Rail’s guidance explains how to seek refunds if you choose not to travel because of disruption, and how to claim Delay Repay from the operator you were booked with. [24]
Another warning sign for the North West’s rail reliability
Saturday’s signalling chaos at Wigan is only the latest in a run of serious incidents on key routes through the North West:
- In August 2025, theft of signalling cables near Wigan North Western caused significant disruption between Preston and Wigan, cutting capacity and forcing operators to reduce the number of trains. [25]
- Earlier this month, a train derailment on the West Coast Main Line between Penrith and Oxenholme blocked all lines north of Preston, hitting Avanti, Northern and TPE passengers and causing widespread cancellations. [26]
On the same day as the Wigan signalling fault, a separate story about the North West’s rail future sparked controversy: the Guardian reported that the 07:00 Avanti West Coast service from Manchester to London, one of the fastest and most popular commuter trains, will be removed from the timetable for passengers but still run empty with crew under a new December timetable. [27]
Business leaders warned that this combination of operational disruption and timetable cuts risks undermining confidence in rail for northern cities, just as Greater Manchester prepares to fold more rail services into the Bee Network by 2028. [28]
What happens next?
With Saturday’s incident now classed as “resolved”, attention will turn to:
- Restoring normal service on Sunday timetables, including getting trains and crews back in the right depots overnight. [29]
- Investigating the root cause of the signalling fault and whether further resilience is needed at this critical junction on the West Coast Main Line. [30]
- Learning lessons for passenger information, including how quickly bus ticket acceptance and clear travel alternatives can be communicated when all lines are suddenly blocked.
For now, the message from operators is simple: if you’re travelling through Wigan North Western or Wigan Wallgate after Saturday’s chaos, build in extra time, keep checking live updates – and don’t forget to claim compensation if your journey took far longer than it should have.
References
1. www.wigantoday.net, 2. www.wigantoday.net, 3. www.nationalrail.co.uk, 4. www.nationalrail.co.uk, 5. www.nationalrail.co.uk, 6. www.wigantoday.net, 7. www.wigantoday.net, 8. www.nationalrail.co.uk, 9. www.wigantoday.net, 10. www.nationalrail.co.uk, 11. www.nationalrail.co.uk, 12. www.journeycheck.com, 13. www.journeycheck.com, 14. www.wigantoday.net, 15. www.wigantoday.net, 16. www.nationalrail.co.uk, 17. www.wigantoday.net, 18. tfgm.com, 19. www.journeycheck.com, 20. www.nationalrail.co.uk, 21. www.journeycheck.com, 22. www.wigantoday.net, 23. www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk, 24. www.nationalrail.co.uk, 25. www.northernrailway.co.uk, 26. www.central.radio, 27. www.theguardian.com, 28. en.wikipedia.org, 29. www.nationalrail.co.uk, 30. www.nationalrail.co.uk
