Passengers urged to plan ahead during Storm Eunice clear up

Rail passengers are being advised to check before they travel this weekend as engineers rapidly repair railway lines after one of the worst storms in 30 years.

Major routes, including the West Coast main line, Chiltern main line, and railway links in the Midlands, North West and Cumbria are recovering from Storm Eunice which brough 90mph winds on Friday.

Because of the level of damage it will take several days for timetables to return to normal.

For that reason, passengers are being advised to check with their train operator or at www.nationalrail.co.uk before they set out on their journey.

Dave Penney, Network Rail’s passenger director for the North West & Central region, said: “I’d like to thank people for their patience while we tried our best to fend off Storm Eunice as it ripped across the railway.

“Hundreds of railway staff worked bravely in horrendous conditions and I’d also like to pay tribute to their courageous work to keep passengers safe. The scale of the damage in some areas will take some time to fix so I’d urge passengers to check National Rail Enquiries over the next few days as we continue the clear up operation from this once in a generation weather event.”

Hundreds of trees were blown onto tracks right across the country during Storm Eunice and also Storm Dudley just 24 hours before that.

Some of the most disruptive incidents dealt with in Network Rail’s North West and Central region were:

• Roofing being blown off a Network Rail depot in Banbury and landing on the Chiltern main line
• Overhead lines being torn down by falling trees near Stockport
• A train hitting a tree near Beaconsfield
• Trees blowing onto the station roof at Kings Langley
• Fallen trees damaging overhead lines at Linslade on the West Coast main line
• Roofing become loose at Preston station in Lancashire

Network Rail and train operators are working together to keep people safe and get all rail routes reopen as soon as possible.

People who had tickets booked for Friday can use their ticket to travel on equivalent services over the coming days.

Those affected should check with their train operator for their exact travel options.

For more information visit:

www.nationalrail.co.uk.