Northampton and Milton Keynes passengers stranded on trains after power lines damaged near London Euston

Rail passengers heading back to Northampton and Milton Keynes on Wednesday evening (December 7) are being warned to expect major delays while Network Rail engineers work to fix 25,000-volt overhead cables near London Euston station.

Some travellers on board London Northwestern Railway and Avanti West Coast services had to be evacuated from stranded carriages after the web of wires was snagged by a train at around 8.50am.

Damage has put seven platforms out of action at Euston and means major congestion for trains in and out of the capital for the rest of the day.

Network Rail’s West Coast South route director, James Dean, said: “I’m sorry to passengers impacted by the overhead lines coming down outside Euston station and the major disruption to journeys this is causing.

“Our team of engineers is working hard to fix the wires and restore power so we can get a full service back up and running as soon as possible. But when wires are damaged like this it can mean a complex and lengthy repair. For that reason I’d urge people to check www.nationalrail.co.uk before they set off on their journey as unfortunately disruption is expected all day.”

London Northwestern services from Northampton are also being delayed by a points failure at Wembley Central.

A spokesperson for Avanti West Coast said: “Whilst we are attempting to run our full service for the remainder of the day, customers should expect some disruption. Anyone who chooses to delay their journey, can use their ticket to travel tomorrow.”