A
stormy


weekend
has
meant
that
many
lines
are
blocked
by
floods
or
fallen
trees
today.

Northampton
station
is
flooded
after
the
River
Nene
burst
its
banks,
and
no
trains
are
running
on
the
loop
of
the
West
Coast
Main
Line
which
serves
Northampton
and
Long
Buckby.

Network
Rail
has
warned
of
‘extensive
flooding’
blocking
the
line
at
Northampton,
and
flooded
streets
also
mean
that
no
replacement
buses
can
run.

Main
line
services
can
still
run
via
Kilsby,
but
trains
are
running
late
and
services
from
Milton
Keynes
Central
and
stations
south
are
limited
because
of
the
loss
of
trains
from
Northampton.

Carole
Bayliss,
strategy
director
for
Network
Rail’s
West
Coast
South
route
apologised
to
opassengers,
and
warned
that
the
floodwater
‘will
mean
major
disruption
on
the
West
Coast
Main
Line
today’.

She
added:
‘While
our
teams
monitor
water
levels
and
wait
until
it’s
safe
to
fully
assess
the
extent
of
flood
damage
to
the
railway,
we’re
urging
passengers
to
check
with
National
Rail
Enquiries
before
travelling.’

The
rain
and
winds
of
Storm
Bert
over
the
weekend
have
also
blocked
the
railway
in
many
other
places.

There
are
speed
restrictions
on
a
number
of
Scottish
lines,
including
Aberdeen
and
Inverness,
Ayr
and
Edinburgh,
Carlisle
and
Glasgow
Central,
Edinburgh
and
Perth,
and
Glasgow
Queen
Street
to
Cumbernauld,
Oban
and
Mallaig.
An
oil
spill
at
Inverness
has
also
affected
trains
from
there
to
the
central
belt,
and
replacement
buses
are
running
between
Inverness
and
Perth.

In
north
west
England,
no
trains
are
running
between
Lancaster
and
Barrow-in-Furness
because
the
line
is
flooded. 

Fallen
trees
between
Broxbourne
and
Audley
End
have
damaged
overhead
power
lines,
and
all
services
have
been
suspended
between
Harlow
Town,
Stansted
Airport
and
Cambridge.
Floods
are
also
delaying
trains
between
Banbury
and
Bicester
North.

Southern
has
warned
of
cancellations,
with
fewer
trains
than
usual
running
on
several
routes,
including
Havant
and
Southampton,
Portsmouth
and
Barnham,
Tulse
Hill
and
London
Bridge
and
also
between
Sutton
and
London
Victoria.

Floods
are
affecting
several
lines
in
Wales
and
the
borders.
There
are
no
trains
between
Pontypridd
and
Treherbert,
Aberdare
or
Merthyr
Tydfil,
or
between
Llanhilleth
and
Ebbw
Vale
Town.

A
landslip
between
Hereford
and
Abergavenny
has
blocked
the
line,
and
flooding
at
Lydney
means
that
trains
between
Lydney
and
Cheltenham
Spa
may
be
delayed
or
cancelled.

Trains
cannot
run
between
Cheltenham
Spa,
Stroud
and
Swindon,
while
there
is
severe
disruption
between
London
and
South
Wales.
GWR
can
only
run
shuttle
services
between
London
and
Swindon,
and
between
Bristol
Temple
Meads
and
South
Wales. 
It
is
proving
difficult
to
provide
alternative
road
services
on
some
routes,
and
passengers
are
being
advised
to
postpone
their
journeys
until
tomorrow
at
least
if
they
can.

In
south
west
England,
there
are
no
trains
running
between
Bristol
Temple
Meads
and
Exeter
St
David’s,
or
between
Newton
Abbot
and
Plymouth,
again
because
of
flooding.
Floods
or
fallen
trees
have
blocked
the
lines
to
Okehampton,
Barnstaple,
Gunnislake
and
Looe,
while
there
are
also
no
trains
on
the
Newquay
line
because
of
scheduled
engineering
work.