HEAVY rain has blocked and damaged railways, particularly in the North of England.
South Yorkshire was the area worst affected, and there were no trains running on Friday morning between Sheffield and Leeds via Moorthorpe, or between Sheffield and Lincoln, Scunthorpe, Hull or Huddersfield.
Trams in Sheffield were also affected by flooded streets. There were no services running to Meadowhall Interchange or between Sheffield and Rotherham.
Further west, railways were blocked by floods between Leeds and Doncaster, and also between Manchester and Hebden Bridge, Manchester Airport and Cleethorpes, and Manchester and Scunthorpe.
In Nottinghamshire, services were suspended between Shirebrook and Worksop.
There was more disruption between Chester and Crewe, and Chester and Hooton.
In southern England, subsidence has closed the line between Par and Newquay, while a landslide has blocked one line between Fleet and Basingstoke.
Network Rail said its engineers will carry out safety inspections once the water levels have dropped.
Some lines which were closed yesterday by flooding have now reopened, but Network Rail warned of some ‘residual disruption’ in these areas.
Meanwhile, railways can no longer cope with the effects of the changing climate, according to ScotRail’s managing director Alex Hynes.
He told the Railway Industry Association conference that the industry should see the problems as a ‘commercial opportunity’ and tell passengers that they were using a greener form of transport.
He said: ‘There is money to be made … We need to tell people they are on an electric train. We have a vested interest in making this work.’