Liverpool Lime Street station will reopen on Thursday (March 9), rail bosses have confirmed.

In dramatic scenes, a wall collapse sent around 200 tonnes of rubble on to the line on the approach to the station – which is one of the busiest in the North of England – on Tuesday (February 28).

The collapse severed overhead power lines and left rubble strewn across all four tracks, which meant all trains were cancelled with immediate effect.

An extensive clear-up operation is now under way and engineers are working around the clock to get services back up and running.

The collapsed wall blocking the line at Edge Hill
The collapsed wall blocking the line at Edge Hill

Mark Killick, chief operating officer for Network Rail, said: “We aim to have trains running again in and out of Liverpool Lime Street station in time for morning rush-hour next Thursday.

“After the wall collapsed on Tuesday night, our orange army engineers have devised a three-step plan.

“Firstly, we are making the location safe. That is happening now.

“This will allow us to start step two – safely accessing the tracks in the cutting more than 10 metres below to clear the debris.

“We will then move on to step three – repairing the damaged railway."

Britain's biggest rail union RMT has claimed that at least one train was only 'seconds away' from colliding with the massive pile of debris.

RMT says the near-miss serves to highlight the importance of a safety-trained guard on every train.

The union is currently fighting proposals for driver-only operated trains.

Passengers are advised to check before they travel at nationalrail.co.uk, and with train operators, for the latest information.