London routes disrupted by extreme weather as Storm Babet batters Scotland
London transport routes were disrupted on Friday, as severe adverse weather and heavy rain continued to cause problems on the rail network.
Network Rail told City PM there was severe disruption on services to and from King’s Cross, due to flooding in Grantham.
According to National Rail’s website, other routes affected by the bad weather and heavy rain include the Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Thameslink and Southern network, all of which run through London.
The Grantham-related flooding has affected routes between London King’s Cross and Sunderland, Bradford, Hull, Leeds, Harrogate, York, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
This comes after the Met Office issued weather warnings lasting until the end of Saturday 21 October across parts of the country.
Scotland has been worst affected, with Storm Babet taking two people’s lives, and forcing the evacuation of whole towns and villages.
Other low-lying areas of England and Wales have been impacted by the disruption, with flooding in the Royal Wootton Bassett area forcing all lines between Bristol Temple Meads via Bath and Swindon, and Bristol Parkway/South Wales and Swindon, to be closed.
It also said that the severity of the flooding means many roads are blocked, and it is not able to provide alternative transport, such as rail replacement buses.
Network Rail said all its major London hubs were open and operational, including Waterloo, Charing Cross, Victoria, Clapham Junction, London Bridge and Cannon Street.
“We appreciate that passengers are facing disruption today due to the impact of Storm Babet and some services are subject to alterations and cancellations”, a Network Rail spokesperson said. “Our teams are working tirelessly across the network, particularly at locations that have been subject to flooding caused by the severe weather, to ensure that the network can operate safely and as reliably as possible. We would ask that passengers, if they have not done so already, to please check before they travel and allow extra time to complete their journeys.”
While London has not been directly affected by the storm, there were delays on the Elizabeth Line today due to an obstruction on the track in the Stratford area.
Carl Eddleston, Transport for London’s Network management & resilience director, said: “We’re working hard to ensure that our transport services are more resilient in the face of storms such as Babet, which are becoming more frequent and extreme.
“We would like to encourage anyone travelling during stormy weather to check before they travel in case of any disruption caused by flooding or fallen trees. Our staff are always available to help people get where they need to be and our emergency response teams are ready to quickly respond to any issues.”