Weather chaos: roads, trains, ferries affected
A-roads shut, trains crawling to the next station and the AA gearing up to service 15,000 breakdowns on a miserable day in the UK, with almost 200 flood warnings and more rain on the way.
With almost 200 flood warnings and another 291 flood alerts, there was predictable havoc on roads and transport systems nationwide. Here is Channel 4 News’ guide to what is shut and who to contact to ensure you get to your destination safely.
Roads
Motorists in north east England were severely affected by the floods, with the largest concentration of AA callouts, but there were problem across the UK including the closure of the A38, the A66 and flooding on the A19.
The Highways Agency website offered regular flood updates as Traffic Wales, Traffic England, Traffic Scotland. Trafficwatch Northern Ireland reported no incidents or delays.
The AA’s advice? Stay out of flood water, whatever your vehicle. The AA expected to deal with 15,000 breakdowns by the end of the day. Motorists were urged to check the AA’s travel news website for updates on their destinations. The AA was also offering traffic news by phone 0906-888-4322 (landline) or 84322 (by mobile) and Facebook.
Traffic England’s website also offered updated traffic information by road or region on England’s motorways and major A-roads with a page dedicated to searching for disruptions.
Rail
There were major delays on rail travel between Doncaster and York/Selby with buses replacing trains after a problem with a river bridge. East Coast trains were unable to run their normal route between Doncaster and York, but some were being diverted via Leeds extending journey times by up to 80 minutes; First Hull Trains services between London Kings Cross and Hull were being diverted and will not call at Howden or Selby; and, CrossCountry services are diverting between Sheffield and York, not calling at Doncaster.
A fire at Langley Green in the West Midlands meant no trains were able to run between Birmingham Snow Hill and Stourbridge Junction, with disruption likely to last until around 5pm.
For the latest news on rail disruption, travellers are urged to check National Rail’s journey checker or follow National Rail on Twitter, Facebook or call 0871-200-4950.
Ferries
Delays of up to 90 minutes were reported on North Sea ferry operator DFDS Seaways between Dover and Calais, France and one-hour delays on DFDS Seaways between Newcastle and Ijmuiden, Amsterdam because of poor weather conditions. Travel updates were offered online through DFDS’s website or by phoning the customer service team at 0871-522-9955.
High winds also threatened to delay services on Caledonian MacBrayne Hebridean & Clyde Ferries between Oban and Colonsay. Calmac’s web site offered service status updates on each route
Flood warnings at home
Travellers were not the only ones at risk on Monday. Homeowners in northern England, southern central England and north Wales were urged to remain vigilant as large rivers rise over the next few days.
The Environment Agency issued more than 93,000 warnings to households.
Heavy deluges are expected in the next 24 hours with up to 30mm forecast in parts of North Yorkshire, Teesside and County Durham. The agency advised homeowners to sign up for free flood warnings, keep up to date with the latest situation via the internet, and stay away from dangerous flood water.
