Railway closed as rain causes flash flooding
THE railway running through West Lancashire between Southport and Wigan was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday after severe flooding caused a landslip.
Days of heavy rain led to flash flooding on Tuesday and, after the network appeared to be recovering from the downpour, an embankment collapsed near Burscough Bridge.
The extent of the problem was so bad that flood water reached the height of the platform at New Lane station, while lines around Up Holland were also submerged.
Roads and farms across West Lancashire once again struggled to cope with the heavy rainfall, notably in Skelmersdale and Burscough, where School Lane, Square Lane and Crabtree Lane were among the many areas affected.
Croston, which was devastated by flooding in 2016, was also badly affected with firefighters needing to pump several inches of water from the streets running through the village. In total, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service responded to 31 individual flooding incidents across the county on Tuesday alone.
Workers from Network Rail attended the flooded tracks on Tuesday, but were unable to carry out the necessary repair work until the water levels subsided.
In the meantime, Northern operated an amended service with some rail replacement buses in service to try to keep customers on the move.
Richard Horobin, Network Rail’s operations director for the North West, apologised to passengers for the cancellations and disruptions and said special water pumps were being used to clear the flooding.“
Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern, added: “Again, I’d like to thank our customers for their patience and ask that anyone who is planning to travel on this route on Wednesday allows extra time for journeys and checks ahead before setting off as delays and cancellations are possible.”