Network Rail ready for cold snap in the north west

As temperature are expected to reach -8 degrees Celsius in parts of Cumbria and Lancashire this weekend, Network Rail's orange army is read to deal with frozen points and other weather-related issues across the area.

By The Newsroom

Published 14th Jan 2016, 11:30 BST

Updated 14th Jan 2016, 13:44 BST

Snow ploughs ready for use by Network Rail.

Along the route Network Rail has six snow ploughs and eight special trains to de-ice the rails.

Some of these specially adapted trains which help keep frost off the third rail in Merseyside have been running daily since the start of December.

But as well as the big machines the orange army is on standby to get to manually defrost frozen points and signals.

Terry Strickland, area director, said: “We have a fleet of trains to move any snow and deal with rail issues along key sections of the route and extra staff ready to keep the railway moving during the predicted freezing weather.

“Careful planning over the past months means we have measures in place to keep trains and passengers moving during cold spells.”

Passengers are advised to check http://www.nationalrail.co.uk before they travel.