Morning of train delays as breakdown blocks route to Birmingham
Rail passengers faced a nightmare morning after train shortages, a breakdown and cable theft caused disruption on the network.
Passengers between Shrewsbury and Birmingham were left with 90-minute delays until the blockage was cleared at around 10am, while the Chase Line returned to normal just in time for rush hour.
Disruption began on the Shropshire to Birmingham line due to an overnight shortage of trains in Shrewsbury, West Midlands Railway said.
The number of carriages were reduced, one Birmingham-bound service was forced to terminate in Wolverhampton and delays reached more than 45 minutes before a breakdown in Telford then made the situation worse.
The broken down train completely blocked the line at Telford Central and three Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street services were stuck behind it, with passengers left stranded at stations between Telford and Birmingham as a result.
West Midlands Railway said the disruption in Telford was caused by a 'defective' train running from Aberystwyth to Birmingham International.
Commuters stuck on platforms along the line were left confused when live rail updates showed their train as having left the station.
The delays have impacted travellers all the way from Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton, including at Shifnal, Cosford, Albrighton and Codsall and Bilbrook stations.
National Rail said the disruption would last until at least 10am and expected trains between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton to be either delayed by 90 minutes, cancelled or revised.
Meanwhile an overnight cable theft meant that services between Rugeley Trent Valley and Walsall were cancelled for more than 30 minutes.
The announcement was made by West Midlands Railway just after 7am this morning and replacement buses were put in place.
The disruption was solved by 7.30am and trains were back up and running in time for the 7.42am service, however this train faced a further 10-minute delay and was reduced from four carriages to two.
