There is severe disruption this morning on the West Coast Main Line after Northampton station flooded, disrupting all trains running between Milton Keynes and Rugby.

The River Nene in Northampton has burst its banks, causing flooding of the tracks through Northampton train station and roads around the surrounding area.

Both Network Rail and London North Western Railway have confirmed that the station is inaccessible, meaning no trains or rail replacement bus services can be run.

London North Western Railway are further affected because they are also unable to access the depot just north of Northampton station where a lot of their trains are based, and are duly unable to run them out of the town to other places.

As of 08:45am this morning (25/11), there are mass cancellations of London North Western services on the West Coast Main Line, with only a handful of services running on lines and all services via Northampton cancelled.

Some services are still in operation, with these operating on the line that bypasses Northampton. Avanti West Coast are still running, although their services are also subject to delays.

The flooding comes in the wake of Storm Bert, which hit the UK over the weekend. Heavy wind, rain and snow have been recorded in multiple parts of the country.

Carole Bayliss, strategy director for Network Rail’s West Coast South route, said in a statement, “We’re very sorry to passengers disrupted by flooding in Northampton, which will mean major disruption on the West Coast Main Line today.

“While our teams monitor water levels and wait until it’s safe to fully assess the extent of flood damage to the railway, we’re urging passengers to check with National Rail Enquiries before travelling.”

Jonny Wiseman, customer experience director at London Northwestern Railway, added, “The recent heavy rainfall and resultant standing water in the Northampton area is impacting all services through the station and also access to our nearby depot.

“We advise our customers to check their journeys before setting out as significant disruption is expected to continue throughout the day across our network.”

Network Rail have stated that the flooding is expected to cause significant disruption to rail journeys all day while engineers monitor water levels and assess damage caused to tracks and signalling equipment.

The railway line closure coincides with further closures of roads in Northampton in the wake of Storm Bert.

On social media, Northamptonshire Police have confirmed that due to flooding, road closures are currently in place for St Andrew’s Road and surrounding areas, St James’ Park Road, along Victoria Park, Dallington close to the brook, London Road and Bridge Street in Far Cotton and Bedford Road