West Yorkshire Fire and RescueRail services between West Yorkshire and Manchester will be disrupted until Thursday following a maintenance vehicle catching fire in a tunnel over the weekend.
Lines were blocked between Marsden near Huddersfield and Stalybridge in Tameside due to the blaze in the Standedge Tunnel, operator TransPennine Express (TPE) confirmed on Sunday.
Network Rail said the blaze began after the maintenance vehicle in the middle of the tunnel caught fire due to a mechanical fault, but that no-one was injured.
Other routes affected include some services departing from Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria and from Liverpool Lime Street.
Network Rail also said removing the vehicle from the 3.5-mile (5.6km) tunnel, which was built in the 1800s, was “extremely challenging” but it was in the process of repairing brickwork damaged by the heat.
TPE advised that where possible trains will divert via the Calder Valley but those that divert between Leeds and Manchester Victoria will not call at Huddersfield and Stalybridge.
Some services will call additionally at Mirfield where passengers can connect to Northern services towards Huddersfield and Leeds.
West Yorkshire Fire and RescueIn an update on the its website, the operator also advised customers travelling from Manchester to Huddersfield to use Manchester Victoria and change at Dewsbury for rail replacement services.
Customers heading from Leeds to Huddersfield should travel via Sheffield or also switch to rail replacement services at Dewsbury.
Jason Hamilton, Network Rail route director, said: “We appreciate this is an inconvenience to passengers, but safety has to be our priority.
“Because of the age and construction of the tunnel, further assessment is needed to define what work needs to be done to make the structure safe and work could take up to three days.”
He added: “Diversionary routes are in place through the Calder Valley so you can still make your journey, with three trains per hour in each direction between Leeds and Manchester.”
