Signal issues cause disruption for rail passengers heading towards Lichfield

West Midlands Railway confirmed that the line was blocked between Birmingham New Street and Lichfield at around 5.30pm, while National Rail said the issue was between Duddeston and Witton.

West Midlands Railway said engineers were working at the scene and were aiming to fix the problem by 9pm and have the service back to normal by 9.30pm.

The rail provider said that tickets were being accepted on bus services between Birmingham New Street and Sutton Coldfield, while road transports was also being requested to shuttle between Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield Trent Valley.

It also confirmed that tickets would also be accepted on CrossCountry services between Birmingham New Street and either Tamworth or Stafford, stations which connected to Lichfield.

A spokesman for West Midlands Railway said: "Due to a fault with the signalling system between Lichfield Trent Valley and Birmingham New Street all lines are blocked.

"We expect the problem to be fixed by 9pm and we estimate that our train service will be back to normal by 9.30pm.

"Ticket acceptance has been put in place with National Express West Midlands buses between Birmingham New Street and Sutton Coldfield.

"Road transport has been requested to shuttle between Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield Trent Valley.

"Ticket acceptance has also been established with CrossCountry to allow you to travel between Birmingham New Street and Tamworth or Stafford, where you can connect with services at Lichfield."

A spokesman for National Rail said: "A signalling issue between Duddeston and Witton is affecting services between Birmingham and Lichfield and Walsall. 

"We are on site to assess and repair but this may take some time.

"Please check @WestMidRailway @nationalrailenq for the latest travel information."