Free travel after Northern Rail ticket system failure
Thousands of rail commuters across north-west England travelled for free throughout the morning after Northern Rail's ticketing system broke down.
Travellers at 67 stations on the Manchester to Liverpool line and lines connecting Blackpool, Preston and Manchester were unable to buy tickets.
Passengers were advised to buy return tickets later in the day either on the train or at a ticket machine.
Northern Rail said its server crashed between 0630 BST and 1200 BST.
A Northern Rail spokesman said: "A server failure occured affecting our ticket offices across the region.
"We provide our customers with alternative opportunities to purchase tickets, 25 of the affected stations have a ticket vending machine, and customers also have the opportunity to purchase a ticket on board trains, and we have no reported widespread issues with this service."