A power failure at Network Rail's operating centre in Manchester caused significant disruption to rail services across the North West of England. The incident, which affected crucial controls for safe train operation, was resolved within 90 seconds.
The centre's backup power supply reportedly failed to activate as quickly as anticipated. This led to damage to the signalling systems, which required parts replacement and system reboots, causing trains to stop and leaving crews out of position.
Network Rail, the publicly-owned body responsible for Britain's railway infrastructure, has apologised to customers and initiated an investigation. Engineers are working to "build additional resilience into our signalling systems to ensure that this doesn't happen again."
The Manchester Rail Operating Centre, opened in 2014, is one of 12 such centres across Great Britain that centralise network control. Experts have warned that this consolidation can lead to broader impacts if one centre is badly affected.