Storm Brian: trains, boats and planes seriously disrupted

‘It’s my mate’s 30th. At this rate I should get there by his next birthday’ - tweet to GWR about delayed train

(PA)

“Arriva Trains Wales are advising NOT TO TRAVEL along the Cambrian Coast route for the rest of the day”: the closure of the railway in north-west Wales was just one of the effects of Storm Brian’s battering of southern Britain.

Railways close to the coast were badly affected. High winds brought down trackside trees twice on the line between Southampton and Fareham in Hampshire, while debris blown onto the lines near Christ’s Hospital in Sussex became “entangled beneath a train”.

The main London-Gatwick-Brighton line was subject to a 50mph speed limit, with numerous trains cancelled to avoid delays building up.

One frustrated traveller, Dan Waters, was trying to get from Southampton to Bristol and tweeted: “It’s my mate’s 30th. At this rate I should get there by his next birthday.”

(Met Office (Met Office)

GWR, the train operator, replied: “This is due to crew displacement caused by a tree on the line earlier.”

Many Irish Sea and Channel sailings were cancelled or delayed. The Met Office warned that sea area Dover, covering the busiest stretch of coastal water for shipping, was expecting a “Southwesterly storm force 10, veering westerly and decreasing gale force 8”.

On the P&O Ferries link to Calais, delays built to three hours.

Services from Cairnryan in south-west Scotland to Northern Ireland operated, but the main A77 road close to the port was closed because of “severe flooding”.

British Airways cancelled 20 flights to and from Heathrow. because of a requirement to slow the arrivals rate at the UK’s busiest airport.

They were all short-haul departures, including round trips to Aberdeen, Dublin, Geneva, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Nice and Stockholm. Affected passengers were rebooked on alternative flights.