Trains are still being delayed or cancelled in several areas this morning, after Storm Bert caused flooding and wind damage over the weekend.
The Northampton loop on the West Coast Main Line is not expected to reopen before tomorrow at the earliest, because signalling and telecomms equipment were damaged when the tracks at Northampton station disappeared under water from the nearby River Nene, which had burst its banks.
Network Rail said the waterlogged equipment ‘needs to be assessed, repaired and thoroughly tested’ before trains can return. Long Buckby station will also remain closed today, and replacement buses are running from Northampton to Rugby and Milton Keynes Central.
West Coast South route director Gary Walsh said: ‘We’re working as quickly as we can to clean up and repair damaged rail equipment.’
Flooding in South Wales has also disrupted services. Trains running between Radyr and Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil are not likely to restart before midday, while trains are not expected to return to the section between Llanhilleth and Ebbw Vale Town before the end of today.
The Great Western Main Line was also blocked between Swindon and Bristol Parkway by flooding at Chipping Sodbury, and debris is being removed from the tracks, with trains unlikely to return today. Through trains are running again between London Paddington and Cardiff Central but they are being diverted, adding 40 minutes to journeys.
In Berkshire, two of the three platforms at Newbury are still closed and fast trains from Newbury to London have been cancelled, although local stopping services and intercity services will still be calling at the one platform which is available.
Further west, disruption is continuing in Devon on the Barnstaple and Okehampton branches, and buses are replacing trains from Exeter again today.