Rail chaos as lorry crashes on to tracks

Services on the West Coast mainline were severely disrupted when a lorry left the road and crashed on to the tracks at the start of the morning rush hour.

Services on the West Coast mainline were severely disrupted when a lorry left the road and crashed on to the tracks at the start of the morning rush hour.

The accident happened at 6.10am, on a stretch of track south of Bletchley station in Buckinghamshire. The driver of the lorry managed to escape the cab before the lorry burst into flames, and has been taken to hospital, apparently suffering from smoke inhalation. There were no other injuries.

The lorry was removed from the track early this afternoon and repair work began immediately on the damaged track and overhead power lines.

Some services were runnning into Euston but, as only two lines were operating in the Bletchley area, there were long delays and cancellations.

Travel information: Central Trains will accept tickets for Virgin (West Coast) on reasonable routes. First Great Western will accept tickets between London Paddington and Reading, but passengers are warned that services to Devon and Cornwall are very busy. Great North Eastern Railway will accept tickets for West Coast journeys on reasonable routes.

National rail enquiries: www.nationalrail.co.uk/
Phone: 08457 484950