Flooding in the Wellington area as well as signalling cable theft have left passengers facing disruption between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton.

In total, 140m of cable has been stolen near Albrighton station at around 2 am this morning.

Track at Wellington station was left submerged by flood water. This has now subsided but with the cable stolen and repairs needed, disruption is likely to last throughout the day.

Transport for Wales passengers can use Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway services between Shrewsbury and Birmingham via Crewe.

Rail replacement buses are also in operation for both Transport for Wales and West Midlands Railway passengers between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton.

“These brazen criminals have no concern for the safety of passengers or local people, they are only interested in making a few quick pounds selling stolen metal to unscrupulous scrap dealers.

“Along with flooding caused by the heavy rain overnight, it has not been a good morning for passengers between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury and I am sorry for the inconvenience caused.

“We are doing all we can to get the line reopened but please check before you travel for the latest information.”

Martin Colmey, Network Rail‘s Central route operations director