'Significant disruption' on LNER trains in Yorkshire after incident on track

The issues stem from a concern for welfare incident, which took place in Retford, Nottinghamshire, on Thursday night (Apr 16).

A train driver contacted Network Rail after seeing a person on the railway close to the station at Retford.

A man was later found to be on the top of a railway bridge over a river at around 8.20pm and police officers and specially-trained negotiators were sent to the scene.

The incident was brought to a safe conclusion at 3.20am this morning (Apr 17).

LNER said in a statement that it apologised ‘unreservedly’ for the delays, but said they were due to trains and passengers being out of place due to the disruption overnight.

David Horne, Managing Director at LNER, said: “I would like to offer my profound apologies to all those whose journeys have been affected. We are aware that people were waiting at stations and onboard our trains for a long time, and we know that our customers will have been travelling for important reasons.

“I want to reassure everyone that our teams, both on the ground and behind the scenes, were working hard to get people moving towards their destinations as quickly as possible.

“However, due to the sensitivity of the incident and with the safety of everyone involved being paramount, we could only run our services through the affected area when British Transport Police determined it was safe to do so.

“We thank our customers for their patience and understanding while teams responded to the sensitive situation.”

A British Transport Police spokesperson said: “We were called just before 7:40pm yesterday (April 16) to reports of a trespasser on the line near Retford railway station.

"Officers responded alongside Nottinghamshire Police and other emergency services, and a man was located in a precarious position on a bridge. A specialist police negotiator also attended the scene to bring the incident to a safe conclusion due to concerns for the man’s welfare.

"At 3.20am on April 17, the man was arrested on suspicion of obstructing the railway and taken into police custody where he remains.”

Gunnar Lindahl, joint operations director for Network Rail and LNER, said: “Our teams worked closely with the emergency services and train operators during this serious and sensitive incident to keep everyone safe and reopen the railway as soon as it was safe to do so.

“We’re sorry to anyone whose journey was affected while the situation was brought to a safe conclusion. Once the line was clear, our teams worked quickly to restore services and support operators in getting trains on the move again.”

LNER customers with tickets dated April 16 or 17 April can use their existing tickets on any LNER service to their destination up to, and including, April 20. It is recommended that customers make a new seat reservation, for free, via the LNER app, website, or at its Travel Centres.