** The incident is now over **
Rail passengers between York and Leeds are facing severe delays tonight (Wednesday) due to the discovery of an unexploded bomb near the tracks.
Network Rail said tonight: “An unexploded wartime bomb has been discovered near the railway in the Cross Gates area.
“As a result of this, lines between Leeds and Micklefield are closed.
“Trains running between Leeds and Selby / York may be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes, revised or diverted via Castleford.”
It comes on top of disruption on the East Coast Main Line, caused by a line side fire at Stevenage. This is causing ‘major disruption until the end of the day‘ between London and York.
Emergency services are at the scene of the unexploded bomb in Leeds, and a cordon is in place.
Disruption is expected until 9pm.
Travel advice
This is the official advice for passengers tonight, from Network Rail.
CrossCountry
You may use your ticket onboard the following services at no extra cost:
- Northern via any reasonable route
- LNER via any reasonable route
- TransPennine Express via any reasonable route
Northern
Alternate services are available on the following routes:
- Between Leeds and York via Harrogate
- Between Halifax and Leeds
- Between Selby and Hull
You may use your ticket onboard the following services at no extra cost:
- CrossCountry between Leeds York
- TransPennine Express services between Leeds and York, and Leeds and Hull
Any ticket restrictions have been lifted during this disruption.
Rail replacement transport will operate as follows:
- 19:15 Leeds to Selby calling at all stations (provided by J&B Travel)
- 19:15 Leeds to York calling at all stations apart from Cross Gates (provided by J&B Travel)
Journey times may be extended by up to 60 minutes whilst travelling by road transport.
TransPennine Express
You may use your ticket onboard the following services at no extra cost:
- CrossCountry between Leeds and Newcastle, and between York and Sheffield via Leeds and Doncaster
- Northern between Leeds and York via Harrogate, and between Leeds and Yor via Garforth that are being diverted via Castleford
For customers travelling from Leeds towards Garforth, please see station staff for road replacement transport to this station. For customers travelling from Garforth towards Selby or York, please see station staff at Garforth, or contact a member of staff via the station help point.
Replacement transport has been requested to run from Leeds to Hull, calling at Selby and Brough in both directions. Transport has also been requested to run in both directions from Leeds to Selby, and Selby to Hull, calling at Brough.