Broken down train causes six hours of delays and cancellations at Manchester Piccadilly station and 'across the region'

A broken down train resulted in around six hours of delays and cancellations at Manchester Piccadilly Railway Station today.

Transport for Greater Manchester announced that there were 'severe delays to all trains operating in and out of Manchester Piccadilly' just after 9am this morning - and the disruption wasn't cleared until just before 3pm this afternoon (Friday, November 26).

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The station itself later said that the broken down train was at Ardwick and was 'causing a traffic jam'.

"Expect services to be delayed for the next five to six hours. Really sorry to all affected," @NetworkRailMAN said in a Tweet.

In a statement, the station went on to say: "We're sorry to passengers delayed by a broken-down train outside Manchester Piccadilly Station. As this is blocking some lines into the North West's busiest railway station it's casing knock-on delays across the region.

"We're working with Northern's engineers to get the train recovered as soon as possible. We thank people for their patience and advice anyone planning to travel today to check National Rail Enquiries for the latest travel information."

Passengers at Manchester Piccadilly after all trains were delayed due to a broken down train (Ryan Jenkinson)

The broken-down train was eventually lifted off the tracks and onto the platform - but it took several more hours for the disruption to be cleared.

The following routes were affected:

• Avanti West Coast between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly

• CrossCountry between Bournemouth / Southampton Central / Reading and Manchester Piccadilly

• East Midlands Railway between Norwich / Nottingham and Liverpool Lime Street

• Northern between Chester / Crewe / Stoke-on-Trent / Buxton / Rose Hill Marple / Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly, between Southport and Alderley Edge, between Hazel Grove and Blackpool North, and also between Barrow-in-Furness and Manchester Airport

• TransPennine Express between Cleethorpes / Hull / Redcar Central and Manchester Piccadilly, and also between Edinburgh and Manchester Airport

• Transport for Wales between Holyhead / Llandudno and Manchester Airport, and between Milford Haven / Cardiff Central and Manchester Piccadilly