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Train customers have been warned not to travel north of Preston until later this week after a service derailed when it struck a landslide at 80mph. Eighty-seven people, including 10 members of staff, were on board the 4.28am Avanti West Coast service from Glasgow to Euston when it came off the tracks near the village of Shap, in Cumbria, on Monday morning. Four people suffered minor injuries in the incident and no one required further hospital treatment. Avanti West Coast told its customers not to travel further north than Preston for the rest of this evening and tomorrow. The company said in a statement: “Avanti West Coast customers should not attempt to travel north of Preston on Monday 3 or Tuesday 4 November, as recovery work is ongoing to restore the infrastructure between Penrith North Lakes and Oxenholme Lake District after a train derailment on Monday November 3. “Destinations north of Preston include Blackpool, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Penrith, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Glasgow, Haymarket and Edinburgh. “We will continue to update our website with further information, but it is likely there will be significant disruption to this part of our network for a number of days.” Those with tickets for the route dated Monday or Tuesday will be able to use them at no extra cost between Wednesday and Friday. Tickets will also be accepted on alternative routes with some other train operators. Of the incident, Network Rail said the front coach of the 11-carriage service derailed at about 6.15am during severe weather conditions and while it was still dark. Sam MacDougall, Network Rail operations director, said early indications suggested the train had hit a landslide. He said: “We believe the train was travelling at approximately 80 miles an hour at the point of collision and then stopped very quickly thereafter.” Mr MacDougall added: “On arrival of the emergency services and the Network Rail staff, all of whom worked in extremely challenging terrain and appalling weather conditions this morning, all persons on board the train were safely removed and brought to a nearby reception centre. “By 10.40 this morning, all customers had been safely taken forward to their onward destinations by replacement road transport. “Our attention now turns to investigating the cause and recovering the railway as quickly as we can.” https://x.com/AvantiWestCoast/status/1985304149961969669 North West Ambulance Service said earlier on Monday that it had stood down from major incident status and was withdrawing resources from the scene. A spokesperson said: “Our colleagues have assessed a total of 87 patients, with only four suffering minor injuries. “No-one required further hospital treatment, and all were discharged from the nearby rest centre.” Andy Mellors, managing director for Avanti West Coast, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation and gratitude for the actions of our colleagues on board, which has been warmly received and appreciated by customers. “I would also like to thank our staff who responded, the emergency services, Network Rail and the local hotel who laid on facilities for everyone onboard. “We are now ensuring we provide support to those affected.”
