Major travel disruption in Greater Manchester after car crashes on rail lines and driver arrested

A driver has been arrested - and commuters caught in major disruption - after a car smashed through a rail bridge and fell onto tracks in Greater Manchester.

The incident happened at about 2am near Regents Road roundabout in Eccles, Salford.

A man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving and taken to hospital with injuries that aren't believed to be life-changing or life-threatening.

No other vehicles were involved.

The road reopened at 7.30am but rail bosses are warning problems will persist for much of the day.

Network Rail said trains between Newton-le-Willows / Wigan North Western and Manchester Oxford Road / Manchester Victoria would be cancelled, revised or diverted.

TransPennine Express services also won't run between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Victoria in both directions until the end of the day.

Trains operated by Northern and Transport for Wales are also affected.

People travelling between Liverpool and Manchester are advised to travel via Warrington Central, which is unaffected.

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A Network Rail spokesperson said: "No trains are able to run on the Chat Moss line between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly, impacting Transport for Wales, TransPennine Express and Northern train services.

"Our engineers are on site working with the British Transport Police to remove the vehicle from the tracks and are assessing the situation in order to repair the damaged cables as quickly as possible/

"However the line is expected to be closed for the majority of the day.

"We're really sorry to any passengers affected by this incident and urge anyone planning to travel by train between Liverpool and Manchester to plan ahead and check with their train operator for the latest travel information."

Sky News

(c) Sky News 2025: Major travel disruption in Greater Manchester after car crashes on rail lines and driver arrested

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