TRAIN operator Northern has apologised after passengers faced disruption at a Bradford railway station this morning following a points failure.

The points failure - caused by the freezing weather - resulted in all lines being blocked for nearly three hours at Bradford Forster Square, leading to delays and cancellations. 

A points failure is a problem with the movable pieces of track that enable trains to change tracks. 

On the Telegraph & Argus' Facebook page, some people complained that Northern did not provide replacement transport in the Arctic conditions.

One woman described it as an "absolute shambles".

A Northern spokesperson said in response: "We are very sorry for the disruption this morning which followed a points failure on the railway line caused by the freezing conditions.

"Ticket restrictions were lifted to allow passengers to customers to continue their journeys once the issue was resolved."

Northern first reported the points failure at around 8am and said Network Rail was at the station to investigate the issue. 

Shortly before 10.45am, Northern confirmed the disruption had ended and services were no longer being affected by the problem.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "I can confirm that the points failure was caused by the cold weather and we are sorry for the disruption which this caused to passengers.

"We continue to work to improve the reliability of points, and to reduce the impact of extreme weather on the railway.

"For example, we've added protective covers to 4,000 points and 2,500 point motors to keep snow out and prevent damage from ice that can fall from passing trains."