People are due to travel to the city with Liverpool due to play rivals Manchester United at Anfield
Liverpool Lime Street station(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
No Avanti West Coast train services will run to or from Liverpool Lime Street in the coming hours. National Rail confirmed shortly before 9am today, Sunday, January 5 that no Avanti services would be running between Liverpool Lime Street and London Euston until approximately midday.
However, unlike other rail networks, the issue does not appear to be down to the weather conditions. Instead an update from National Rail said a problem at the Avanti depot was the cause of the service cancellations.
A spokesperson for National Rail said: “A problem at the depot means that Avanti West Coast trains are unable to run to / from Liverpool Lime Street. Trains running to / from this station may be cancelled or delayed. Disruption is expected until 12:00.”
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National Rail wrote on its official X/Twitter account: “Your ticket can be used at no extra cost on the following services: – Northern trains via any reasonable route – TransPennine Express via any reasonable route – London Northwestern Railway between Liverpool Lime Street and Crewe.”
Liverpool FC are due to host rivals Manchester United at Anfield later this afternoon. It is expected that the Avanti train issues could cause issues for trains travelling from outside of the north west. A safety meeting is due to take place at Anfield at 12pm today to determine if the match will go ahead.
An amber weather warning is currently in place on Merseyside following the overnight snow. The region is expected to face heavy rain throughout the day with temperatures barely above freezing. Merseyrail ran its first service of the day without passengers to ensure the lines were safe to use. All lines apart from the Chester to Rock Ferry service are currently running trains.
Avanti has come under criticism in recent years due to its cancellations, delays and timetable reductions. In July last year its boss was summoned by the former transport secretary Louise Haigh who described the service as “woeful”. A year ago, Avanti had the worst reliability record of 24 operators in Britain and the most recent figures show its ranking has risen to number 20.