Rail lines closed due to flooding as travel chaos from Storm Babet spreads

20 October 2023 , 09:17

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Storm Babet has hit multiple parts of the UK, bringing travel disruption (Image: Jordan Crosby)

More train services have been disrupted this morning as heavy downpours from Storm Babet spread throughout the UK.

National Rail Enquiries have said several routes in north-west England, the Midlands and north Wales are now closed due to flooding.

All lines are affected between Worcester Foregate Street and Stratford-upon-Avon, between Birmingham New Street and Cheltenham Spa, and between Longbridge and Bromsgrove. The railway is blocked between Walsall and Rugeley Trent Valley, and between Hereford and Shrewsbury. Some lines are closed between Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton.

Speed restrictions are in place between Birmingham International and Coventry. The railway between Sheffield and Derby was blocked by a fallen tree earlier on Friday but has since reopened. Some lines are blocked between Sheffield and Lincoln due to flooding and trains are unable to call at Rotherham. A speed restriction because of high winds is also in place between Newcastle and Edinburgh, causing delays.

Other lines affected include all those between Chester and Crewe, between Wrexham Central and Bidston, and between Hooton and both Chester and Ellesmere Port. Some lines are also blocked between Crewe and Shrewsbury due to flooding.

Follow our Storm Babet live blog here.

Gales, snow and rain to batter country today with 80mph wind gusts

Elsewhere in Scotland, trains are suspended between Aberdeen and Elgin, Edinburgh and Aberdeen via Fife, Perth and Aberdeen via Dundee, Dunblane and Perth; Perth and Aviemore; and Tain and Wick/Thurso. All Fife Circle services are also suspended, impacting services between Glasgow Queen Street and Aberdeen/Inverness, and Edinburgh Waverley and Aberdeen/Inverness.

Strong winds from Storm Babet are causing major transport disruption, and the stormy weather looks set to continue into Saturday. A month's worth of rain fell in just a few hours in some parts of Scotland, and residents of the town of Brechin in Angus have been ordered to evacuate over 'significant danger to life' from flooding.

The body of a 57-year-old woman was recovered from a river in Angus, where a red weather alert is currently in place. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 1.45pm on Thursday October 19, officers attended a report of a person having been swept into the Water of Lee, Glen Esk. The body of a 57-year-old woman was recovered from the river. "

Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas