Leeds station: Trains running again after disruption Published duration 30 May 2019

image caption Passengers were earlier advised to leave the station

Thousands of passengers have had their journeys disrupted due to a trespasser on the railway at Leeds station.

Network Rail said overhead electric wires were switched off at 07:30 BST while police safely "removed [a man] from harm's way" just before 09:30.

Delays and cancellations have affected stations across the country, including York, Sheffield, Plymouth and Newcastle.

Network Rail said most services were back to normal by 16:00 BST.

A Network Rail spokesman said: "It's not totally cleared, but there's about 80% of the trains running [to time]."

British Transport Police said a man who was removed from the station had been taken to hospital.

Earlier one passenger told the BBC her 07:30 service from nearby New Pudsey had been delayed for more than two hours.

"We pulled in just outside Leeds," she said.

"That's where we stayed and we were just notified there had been an incident and they would keep us updated."

Passengers at Leeds were turned away by staff earlier unless their journeys were "absolutely necessary".

Train operators Northern and London North Eastern Railway (LNER) have used buses to replace some of the cancelled services.

LNER said eight buses would be operating between Leeds, York and Doncaster.

image caption The disruption is expected to last until at least 16:00 BST

At Sheffield, passengers were told to make alternative travel arrangements, with services to Nottingham, Plymouth and Newcastle all disrupted. Services in and out of York have also been delayed.

One passenger stuck on a train near Ilkley said he was unable to get to London on his pre-booked ticket and had "no money" to buy a replacement.

At the scene earlier

Jonny McGuigan, BBC News

image caption Staff handed out bottles of water to delayed passengers

Services at the station are still "severely affected" and staff have been asking passengers to remain in the concourse area until trains start running again.

Coffee shops have been handing out free drinks to commuters and station staff have been distributing bottles of water.

One woman is simply sat playing the piano in the station.

She is waiting for a train but has decided that she may as well keep herself busy and entertain other passengers.

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More than 72,000 people use the station every day, with an average of 25,000 passengers during the morning peak period.

Leeds is the third busiest railway station in Great Britain outside London, according to Department for Transport figures.