Network Rail Probes 90-Second Manchester Outage as Backup Failure Halted Trains Across North West
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 7
Network Rail Probes 90-Second Manchester Outage as Backup Failure Halted Trains Across North West
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 7
Summary
A 90-second power cut at Network Rail’s Manchester operating centre triggered widespread disruption because the backup supply did not switch in fast enough, forcing trains to stop while signalling systems failed.
Some signalling equipment was damaged and had to be rebooted and partly replaced, leaving trains and crews out of position across the North West and prolonging delays well beyond the brief outage.
Network Rail has apologised and opened an investigation, while saying engineers are adding resilience to prevent a repeat at the Manchester hub, one of 12 Rail Operating Centres now centralising control across Britain.
Experts said that centralisation can magnify failures at a single site, and some also linked the incident to wider funding and staffing pressures despite Network Rail’s £44.1 billion settlement for 2024-29.
The breakdown adds to scrutiny of Britain’s rail system as the government moves toward Great British Railways, which is expected to absorb Network Rail and unify infrastructure with passenger operations.