UK : Damage hits travel as more severe weather expected

BBC weather forecaster Chris Fawkes says more bad weather is on the way and explains the likely impact of the powerful jet stream.

and are preparing to bear the brunt of the latest storms to hit the UK, amid continuing travel disruption.

Two people died in 's storms – a man in Cumbria and a woman in Gwynedd.

Homes have been damaged and many are without power in , and road, sea and air travel is affected.

In Dorset, about 25 people trapped in cars by flood water have been rescued by fire crews, Dorset Fire Control said.

High winds are expected in northern and western Scotland and there are warnings of possible damage to the electricity network in Northern Ireland.

As many prepare to travel home for , there is disruption to many rail services:

Ferry passenger Catriona Koris: “We've had injured people air-lifted to safety”

Southern services are suspended until further notice because of “extreme disruption” to the network

South West Trains says no trains will run before 10:00 GMT to allow lines to be checked

East Coast trains is planning to run its Christmas Eve timetable as published

Virgin says it expects delays and disruption to its services

First services may be affected as a result of Monday's disruption

The Cardiff Valleys, Cambrian Mainline and International/New Street routes of Arriva Trains Wales are affected

The Gatwick Express is not running

Many other routes are also being hit by cancellations and delays, with people advised to check before they travel.

The severe weather is causing disruption at some airports. At Gatwick, power problems at the north terminal are causing issues with manual check-in.

Many ferry services are also still disrupted.

Some people were forced to spend the night in their cars at the Port of Dover, waiting to sail to France.

Meanwhile, as many as 27,000 homes and businesses were left without electricity in southern England, Southern Electric said on Monday night, with 13,000 in and around Aldershot alone.

Others were without power in Oxford, Poole in Dorset, and Petersfield in Hampshire

Some 3,000 Western Power Distribution customers in Cornwall and a further 2,000 in other parts of the South West were left without electricity. Some 800 were still without power on Monday evening.

National Rail Statement

Very strong winds and heavy rain has been affecting services throughout England, Wales and Scotland on Monday 23 and Tuesday 24 December.
Some trains are delayed or cancelled, and some Train Operators may run an amended timetable.

The latest information will be published here when available and it is advised that you check your journey before travelling.

A number of train companies are advising passengers with tickets dated Monday 23 December to travel earlier than their ticket time states on Monday or on Tuesday 24 December. Please see the train company links below for full information.

Travel advice is available for the following Train Operating Companies:

London Overground (No Service), Merseyrail and ScotRail are running the planned service.

Southern Railway

Storm-UK,-part-2

***Warning – Train services suspended on all routes due to effects of overnight storm ***

The stormy weather overnight into this morning has caused considerable difficulties for our rail network and the surrounding road network.

As a result, several lines of route are suffering from a combination of flooding, blockages from fallen trees, power supply failure or potential landslips. We will not be able to gauge the full extent of this damage or the prospect for operating services safely until daylight. Currently we are working closely with our colleagues in Network Rail to prioritise the clearing and proving of routes to be safe before trains can operate. This means that train services are SUSPENDED until this work is complete and we do not expect this to happen until much later this morning.

We will update this site with our progress as we work to restore services and passengers wishing to travel today are asked to check before they set out for the station to ensure that services are running.

Passengers are advised to check the latest travel situation before starting their journeys via southernrailway.com, nationalrail.co.uk or on Twitter @SouthernRailUK Ticket flexibility has been increased to allow passengers to change their time of travel if necessary.

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