Electricity cut out in the main control hub for north-west England's railways, the Manchester Rail Operating Centre near Ashburys station in the city's east.

The outage is expected to last until the end of the day and is impacting five rail companies in the North West and the Midlands.

National Rail has warned of 'major rail disruption' in the Greater Manchester area, the Midlands and North West of England, with trains cancelled, delayed by an hour or rescheduled