THE overnight storms left many parts of the railway network disrupted on Thursday morning, with lines blocked by fallen trees, damaged overhead wires or floods.
Network Rail said 'immense efforts by hundreds of rail engineers overnight' had seen scores of trees removed from blocked lines, over a dozen dewirements repaired and hundreds of pieces of debris cleared away
The most extreme parts of the storm hit Wales and north west England, and the West Coast Main Line was closed for some distance north of Preston for a time. Network Rail said most of the West Coast line was open again with only the spur through Runcorn to Liverpool still closed. This was expected to be restored later in the morning.
The majority of the East Coast Main Line was also open with the spur from Doncaster to Leeds expected to reopen during the morning. Overhead line damage north of York meant only a limited service could be provided as work continued to repair damage. A blanket speed restriction of 80mph from Newcastle to the Scottish border was expected to add about 30 mins to Anglo-Scottish journey times until midday.
Crewe station, which was closed last night because of wind damage to the roof and overhead wires, has now reopened, but delays are continuing on a number of other lines in the north of England. In Wales, engineers were also continuing to clear lines, and there were no train services on Thursday morning between Clarbeston Road-Fishguard Harbour, Llandudno Junction-Blaenau Ffestiniog and Machynlleth-Aberystwyth.
Flooding in the south and west of England has continued to disrupt the third rail network south of London where several lines remain closed, while obstructions also continue at Dawlish and Bridgwater. At Maidenhead the Great Western Main Line is open but train services are restricted by flood-damaged signalling equipment. Flooding at Hinksey on the outskirts of Oxford has now retreated, but Network Rail said it was only possible to provide a half-hourly shuttle between Oxford and Reading because of the problems at Maidenhead.
Today marks a welcome break in the disruptive weather for many, but forecasters are warning of more rain and wind tomorrow.