Storm Pia: Strong winds bring rail chaos to Christmas getaway
Some rail passengers have been told not to travel as Storm Pia batters Britain with 80mph winds.
TransPennine Express (TPE) has “strongly” urged travellers to avoid services to and from Edinburgh before 3pm on Thursday as part of its “do not travel” advice, with connections from Manchester axed.
The Christmas getaway, which is only just beginning, threatens to be plunged into chaos with seven rail operators warning of lengthy delays or cancellations because of the weather, including between London and Scotland.
A yellow weather warning for wind came into effect at midnight and will last until 9pm, with forecasted gusts of 70mph to 80mph in northern Scotland - 65mph to 70mph on high ground - and 45mph to 55mph elsewhere in the country.
The warning also covers Belfast, Newcastle upon Tyne and Manchester.
The Met Office said “strong winds across a large swathe of the country” would bring “delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport”, with some 2.2 million drivers taking to Britain’s roads on Thursday according to the RAC.
The AA has already warned that the festive travel rush is due to hit earlier than normal this year, on Friday and Saturday, when it expects 16.1 million and 16.4 million car journeys respectively.
The weather front has been named as Storm Pia by the Danish Meteorological Institute, which is forecasting “hurricane force” winds for the country. It has moved across to Britain from the Norwegian Sea.
On the railways, the following alerts have been issued:
TPE said there will be speed restrictions in place from the early hours for trains running to and from Edinburgh and that it will not run services between the city and north-west England until Thursday afternoon.
Avanti West Coast routes between Glasgow Central and Lockerbie, as well as Edinburgh and Lockerbie “may be delayed by up to 60 minutes” as a result of speed restrictions.
CrossCountry services “may be cancelled or delayed until the end of the day”, with trains between Edinburgh and Newcastle at risk of starting or terminating at Newcastle.
LNER trains “may be cancelled, delayed or subject to alterations” until midday on Friday, with some London to Edinburgh services starting or terminating at Newcastle or facing delays of up to 30 minutes, trains between York/Leeds and Doncaster face 20 minute delays, Inverness trains have been scrapped and services to and from Bradford Forster Square may be cancelled or delayed by an hour due to a fallen tree.
Northern services “may be delayed by up to 45 minutes” across the board, with particular disruption at Shipley and between Leeds and York due to a fallen tree.
ScotRail has cancelled seven routes, including some out of Inverness and Glasgow Queen Street.
East Midlands Railway services between Nottingham and Crewe are at risk of delays because of damage to the overhead electric wires between Stoke-on-Trent and Macclesfield/Crewe.
With ticket acceptance on routes such as LNER spilling into Friday and many trains already being sold out, the Christmas getaway could be at risk of major disruption.
The Met Office’s chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen said “there’s a chance this low pressure will continue to exert its influence into Friday”, when it is expected to remain windy with heavy rain sweeping in from the west as millions of people travel.
Elsewhere on the trains, Network Rail said many services will only run once safety inspections have taken place, leading to some cancellations.
The disruption is set to continue, as there will be no LNER, Lumo or Hull Trains services terminating or leaving London King’s Cross station on Christmas Eve because of major engineering work to upgrade signals taking place between London and Peterborough.
It comes as schools in Shetland will be closed on Thursday and more electricity network engineers are being brought in to deal with any power cuts.
Ferry services across the west coast of Scotland are expected to be disrupted, CalMac said.
The Met Office said it remains “generally rather unsettled for the weekend before Christmas, with further Atlantic frontal systems bringing rain and strong winds to parts of the UK” and the heaviest rain in the west and northwest.
