Friday 22 Nov 2024
North of England rail travel advice during Storm Bert this weekend
- Region & Route:
- Eastern
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Eastern: East Coast -
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Eastern: East Midlands -
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Eastern: North & East
People planning rail journeys in the North of England are being urged to check before they travel due to Storm Bert.
The named storm will bring heavy rain and strong winds between Saturday 23 to Monday 25 November which could impact rail services.
With the bad weather set to intensify, travel disruption is possible on the East Coast Main Line, Midland Main Line, and North East rail routes.
Network Rail has been closely monitoring the weather forecast for several days and has scores of workers ready to deploy to tackle issues such as flash flooding or fallen trees blocking tracks.
However, with it being impossible to predict exactly where the weather will strike, passengers should check www.nationalrail.co.uk before they set off on their journeys.
Residents living by the railway are advised to tether down loose garden items, like trampolines or gazebos, which are also at risk of blowing onto tracks.
Lila Tachtsi, director of engineering and asset management for Network Rail’s eastern region said: “While our teams have been preparing for this bad weather for several days, it’s really difficult to know exactly when and where it will strike, which is why we’re asking people to check before they travel.
“The best way to do that is to check National Rail Enquiries before you set out on your journey. If you live by the railway, please tie down any loose garden items – it’s amazing what can be carried by a strong gust of wind and end up on the tracks – causing unnecessary delays for passengers and freight.”
For more information on how storms impact the railway and how Network Rail works to keep people on the move, you can visit https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/looking-after-the-railway/delays-explained/storms/.
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain’s railway infrastructure; that’s 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK’s largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country’s train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain’s railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation’s railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced – a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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