Further delays on west coast line

Virgin rail services were among those affected

Travellers on the West Coast Main Line experienced delays for the seventh day in a row because of overhead power line problems in the Midlands.

The incident, in the Atherstone area of Warwickshire, resulted in delays of up to 50 minutes, the National Rail Enquiries website said.

However, Network Rail said the hold-ups had been less severe.

The route affected includes London Euston, Rugby, Stafford, Stoke-on-Trent, Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street.

Engineers were on site to fix a "minor problem" at Polesworth, near Tamworth, on the West Coast Main Line, Network Rail said.

'Full investigation'

Network Rail said the West Coast line also had to be shut earlier, between Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire and Rugby in Warwickshire after a lorry hit a railway bridge at Blisworth in Northamptonshire.

Trains were being diverted via Northampton, causing minor delays.

By late morning, the line was operating normally.

The line has recently been hit by overhead cable problems in Warwickshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire and a plane crash near Stafford.

On Tuesday night overhead power cables hit a train at Kenton in north-west London, leading to disruption for thousands of commuters on Wednesday.

Disruption on the line has led to 70% of Virgin services running late since the start of the year.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said the line's recent £9bn upgrade was completed in haste, leading to a string of problems.

A Network Rail spokesman said a "full investigation" was being carried out into the cause of all the problems.