A DERAILED freight train and landslide caused chaos at Carlisle railway station on Thursday morning with hundreds of people impacted.

On the evening of Wednesday May 29, it was confirmed that a freight train had derailed between Oxenholme Lake District and Penrith, and was blocking the West Coast Main Line.

Services were cancelled on Wednesday night, and train operators Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express also issued a 'do not travel' alert on Thursday, urging passengers not to attempt to use their services for journeys between Preston and Scotland.

This left many stranded at the railway station, waiting on rail replacement buses and taxis to take them to Preston, where they could take a connecting train to take them further south.

To make matters worse, customers keen to reach Newcastle from Carlisle were also delayed in the morning, due to a landslip at Corbridge which was impacting the line.

One customer, who was aiming to reach Lancaster, says while he didn't blame the station staff for unforeseen circumstances, he had hoped that there would be better provisions in place for exactly this sort of situation. 

He said: "My thought process today was, I'll go green. I didn't bring my car, I biked in from five miles away, and got my bike locked away. I looked up at the screens for the train time, and there was nothing there.

"It's not their fault, these things happen. There's been a derailment and a landslide. You would have thought that would be some better emergency planning because these things happen."

News and Star: Handout photo provided by Network Rail of a freight train that derailed on the West Coast Main Line between Carlisle and Oxenholme Lake District on Wednesday night.Handout photo provided by Network Rail of a freight train that derailed on the West Coast Main Line between Carlisle and Oxenholme Lake District on Wednesday night. (Image: National Rail)

Another added: "You would think that they'd have more buses ready to avoid the compensation, but that's what the trains are like at the moment."

One couple were making the significant trip from Lockerbie to Dover for a holiday, but found themselves incredibly delayed.

They said: "We're travelling to Dover from Lockerbie. We've managed to get a lift from Lockerbie to Carlisle to try and get a connection.

"All the buses are being used for school runs so we've got to wait until they're available. These things happen, it's frustrating, but what can you do?"