Major disruption on rail services
GWR, LNER, Transpenine Express and Hull Trains cancellations
Last updated 8th May 2021
A number of rail services have been cancelled - after reports of cracks on some trains. Carriages are are being taken out of service to be checked as a precautio.
It's affecting Hitachi 800 trains - and mostly inter-city services, rather than suburban or rural routes. Hitachi's statement reads:
"Some Class 800s have been taken out of passenger service as a precautionary measure to allow for thorough investigations. We are working with all partners to resolve this issue as quickly and safely as possible. We would like to offer our sincerest apologies to passengers for the impact this may be causing to their travel plans. "
It's affecting London North Eastern Railways (LNER) which is advising passengers not to travel at all today; while Hull Trains and Great Western Railway say they're experiencing "major disruption''.
Transpenine Express say their affected trains will be released back into service as soon as possible.
A GWR spokesperson said a crack was spotted in multiple trains which they operate, so all 93 Hitachi 800s in their fleet are now being inspected as a "precaution''.
The spokesperson said: "There's a crack that's been spotted and as a result of that - as a precaution - we're checking all the trains, and while that's taking place it's better that they're not used.
"It's been found in more than one train, but we don't know exactly how many trains because the fleet is still being inspected.''
The spokesperson added that the issue is affecting long-distance journeys between cities, but that suburban and rural GWR services are still running as normal.
It's a similar message from London North Eastern Railway:
A message on Transpenine Express' website says "we are advising customers not to travel on our Newcastle to Liverpool route today due to an ongoing issue". They say their affected trains will be released back into service as soon as possible.
Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union said: "RMT is fully aware of the issues that have led to the cancellation of services on LNER today and that similar problems with cracks appearing in the fleet on Great Western are also emerging.
"Hitachi needs to ensure the highest safety standards and properly investigate and rectify the issues.''
It could affect services into tomorrow.
When asked how long the disruption will last, the GWR spokesperson said: "It's a question of how quickly the trains can be inspected - it's highly likely that it will certainly persist through to the end of today.
"Once more inspection has been carried out we'll have a better understanding as to whether that disruption is going to continue into tomorrow.''