A signalling problem in Standedge Tunnel is causing Bank Holiday trouble for train passengers.
Services between Huddersfield and Manchester Victoria are being disrupted with some cancelled and others running a much reduced service.
A Northern Rail spokesman said: “An infrastructure problem is in Standedge tunnel on the route between Manchester Victoria to Huddersfield. At this moment in time Network Rail engineers have not provided an estimated timescale for resolving the issue.”
Huddersfield Railway Station manager Will Munton said the problems had started around 9am and engineers from Network Rail who manage the infrastructure thought they had rectified the problem.
He said: “An axle counter, (a device on a railway that detects the passing of a train between two points on a track), has failed in the tunnel which means that the trains have to run on reduced speed.
“It’s a problem which affects our ability to run trains.”
However, he said at 2pm problems started again and engineers were struggling to find the fault.
He added: “We have reduced the service from five trains an hour to three an hour between Leeds and Manchester across the Pennines. This helps keep the railway moving.
“No-one has missed their flights today – you haven’t had passengers stuck on trains and we have been high profile with extra staff on platforms and announcements.
“Because it’s a Bank Holiday it’s not been a very busy day so we have been able to pull trains out.
“I am happy with how we have managed the disruption.”
The 1848 Huddersfield to Manchester Victoria is expected to run.
First TransPennine Express services between Manchester Airport and York are cancelled and a reduced service is running between Huddersfield and Manchester Piccadilly.
Some services will divert between Leeds and Manchester Victoria and will not call at Huddersfield
Some Northern Rail services between Huddersfield and Manchester Victoria have been cancelled.
Although services which run between Stalybridge and Manchester Victoria are able to run normally buses are running between Huddersfield and Stalybridge calling at intermediate stations.
