Rail passengers were caught in major disruption after a train hit an obstruction on the East Coast mainline north of York.

A TransPennine Express train suffered damage in the incident north of Northallerton shortly after 6.30pm today (Wednesday, March 13).

Many services have been delayed or cancelled as a result.

It is understood the train has suffered significant damage and can't be moved until engineers have attended the scene.

A rescue train was heading to the scene late on Wednesday night to transport 239 stranded passengers.

One of the passengers, speaking at 10pm tonight, told The Press: "I’m exhausted and want to go home, but the train team have been excellent in keeping us updated as things happen and providing refreshments."

She added: "We’re all hoping the rescue train will arrive soon but most of us aren’t expecting to make it home until the early hours."

A comment on the National Rail website said: "A train hit an obstruction on the line between Darlington and York earlier this evening.

"The impact of the obstruction has caused damage to a train which now requires repairs before it can be moved. As a result, all lines remain closed whilst an engineer is on site.

"Trains running between these stations may be cancelled, severely delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised.

"Major disruption is expected until the end of the day."

The woman on the stranded train told The Press that passengers had been informed the train had hit an animal.

She added: "We've been told the train is 'irretrievably broken' due to damage to an air pipe. The damage means they can't release the brakes to move the train at all."

The routes affected are:

  • CrossCountry between Edinburgh and Bristol Temple Meads / Plymouth, and between Glasgow Central and Plymouth, and between Newcastle and Reading
  • Lumo between Edinburgh and London Kings Cross
  • LNER between Aberdeen / Edinburgh / Newcastle / Sunderland and London Kings Cross, and between Aberdeen and Leeds
  • TransPennine Express between Newcastle and York / Liverpool Lime Street, and between Darlington and Manchester Airport

More to follow.