Disruption has continued on the West Coast Main Line via Milton Keynes after the derailment of a train in the city yesterday (26/06).

A London Northwestern Railway (LNWR) train derailed at around 12:30pm yesterday between Milton Keynes Central and Bletchley stations, with rear carriages coming off the tracks.

The operator confirmed that no passengers were on board the train at the time of the incident, with the train having been running empty, and nobody was injured.

The derailment blocked 2 of the 4 tracks between the two stations, with the two affected tracks remaining blocked as a result of what happened.

National Rail Enquiries have said they expect the disruption to continue tomorrow (28/06), with time required to move the derailed train and fix any track damage the incident may have caused.

Closure of two of the tracks has meant changes to Avanti West Coast and LNWR services that use the West Coast Main Line via Milton Keynes, with mass cancellations and delays.

Both operators have published travel advice for dealing with the continuing disruption.

Long-distance operator Avanti West Coast, whose services were also affected by an electrical failure in Lancashire yesterday, have advised passengers check before travelling.

Avanti said, “We are strongly advising customers to check their journey before they travel today, Friday 27 June, following a number of incidents on our route yesterday (26 June) that resulted in severe disruption on our network.

“Cancellations and delays to journeys to and from London Euston are expected for the remainder of the day following an incident yesterday involving the low speed derailment of a non-passenger train between Watford Junction and Milton Keynes. Those trains that are running are expected to be very busy.

“If you were due to travel yesterday between London and Scotland or were impacted by the earlier incident of the derailed train, then your ticket dated 26 June can be used on any Avanti West Coast train via the same route until the end of service today (27 June).

“If your train was delayed or cancelled and you abandoned your journey as a result, you can claim a fee-free refund from where you bought your ticket. If you continued with your journey but were delayed by 15 minutes or more, you can claim Delay Repay compensation from the train company you’d booked to travel with.

“We’re really sorry if this affects you and your journey today.”

LNWR said, “A reduced service is in place to/from London Euston today (Friday 27/06). This is affecting both London Northwestern Railway and Avanti West Coast services.

“The amended timetable will mean reduced frequencies and longer journey times between certain stations. Services may also be subject to delay and alteration while works are ongoing to clear the incident.

“Details of the amended timetables and alternative journey options are available on a route by route basis.”

The operator said a reduced service is in operation on the line between London and Northampton via MK, with two all-stations services per hour, while no through services are heading onward to Birmingham.

Both operators have confirmed tickets are valid for other operators, although engineering works planned on the line out of London St Pancras is likely to lead to congestion on East Midlands Railway and Thameslink services to Luton and Bedford.