Storm Eunice: Welsh railways closure, red warning issued, travellers warned against heading out

Storm Eunice: Welsh railways closure, red
warning issued, travellers warned against
heading out
February 17, 2022

The following is a look at the preparations and warnings given ahead of Storm Eunice. You can read about
the impact of the storm from a more recent report here.

Ahead of Storm Eunice on Friday (18 February), Network Rail has said that every Railway will be closed in
Wales as it is hit by potentially the biggest storm it has suffered in a decade.

A rare red warning has been issued by the Met Office for the southwest coastal areas of the UK, which will
brace for gusts of up to 90 miles per hour.

And in many regions, rail passengers are being warned against travelling.

Where lines are running, Network Rail has put speed restrictions in place to keep services operating as
safely as possible.

Wales to suspend all rail for the day
Network Rail has predicted Wales will undergo winds of up to 100 miles per hour.

Train services will be suspended for the whole of Friday, with disruption likely to continue into the
weekend, so that more than 1,000 miles of track can be checked and cleared of debris and fallen trees.

These will be felt around the Pembrokeshire coastline, while winds of between 60 and 80 miles per hour
could impact inland across Wales and the borders area.

Transport for Wales (TfW) is allowing passengers with tickets for tomorrow (18 Feb) or Saturday (19 Feb) to
travel today or over the weekend, or Monday, if services have resumed by then. Original tickets will be
valid for these journeys.

Great Western Railway is also allowing passengers to travel on alternative days with tickets valid today
through to and including Monday 21 February.

Avanti West Coast passengers with tickets for Friday can use their tickets today or on Saturday 19
February.

Bill Kelly, Network Rail Wales & Borders route director, said: “The decision to temporarily close the railway
in Wales has not been made lightly but the safety of passengers and staff is our top priority.

“Storm Eunice is expected to bring extreme high winds of up to 100mph and in places it is very likely trees
and debris will be blown onto train lines.

“We are sorry for the disruption caused by closing the railway and we will continue to work hard, along
with our train operator colleagues, to get train services back up and running as soon as it is safe to do so.

“Passengers who are planning to travel over the weekend are strongly advised to check before they travel
as the unpredictable nature of storms such as Storm Eunice means the impact on services can change
quickly.”

Martyn Brennan, operations director at TfW, said: “The safety of our customers and our colleagues sits at
the very heart of what we do and for this reason, we have taken the difficult decision to suspend all TfW
services Friday until it is safe to re-open. The extreme weather forecast for Storm Eunice is very
concerning, so we are strongly advising people not to attempt to travel during this time as services will not
be operating.

“For those who have already purchased a ticket to travel during Storm Eunice, they can choose to either
travel today, Thursday 17, on Saturday 19 or on Sunday 20. Alternatively, customers can claim a full
refund in the normal way. I would like to thank customers for their understanding and support.”

London Northwestern, TransPennine Express & West
Midlands among those that say “do not travel”
LNR is one operator that has issued a warning and cut down services.

The following timetable changes will apply on Friday:

   A significantly reduced service between Birmingham, Northampton and London Euston
   No service between Crewe and London Euston
   No service on the Marston Vale Line between Bedford and Bletchley

Lawrence Bowman, LNR customer experience director, said: “Storm Eunice is expected to be one of the
biggest storms in recent years and we expect significant disruption to train services.

“The message to our customers is clear – do not use the train on Friday. Customers with tickets for travel
on Friday will be able to travel today and Saturday instead.”

Paul Watson, operations director for TransPennine Express said: “Storm Eunice will be the second storm to
impact our services this week and it is likely to cause major disruption to train services, right across the
North of England and into Scotland.

“The most important thing is that our customers and staff are kept safe, and we are urging customers not
to travel by train on Friday 18 February. We are instead asking customers to make their journeys on either
Thursday 17 or Saturday 19 February.

Jonny Wiseman, West Midlands Railway customer experience director, said: “Storm Eunice is expected to
be one of the biggest storms in recent years and we expect significant disruption to train services.

“The message to our customers is clear – do not use the train on Friday. Customers with tickets for travel
on Friday will be able to travel today and Saturday instead.”

John Robson, CrossCountry regional director North West and West Midlands, said: “Storm Eunice is
expected to cause significant disruption to services across our network on Friday. We will be running a
much reduced service and journey times will take longer as blanket speed restrictions – 50mph in most
places – will be imposed for safety reasons across large swathes of the UK. We strongly advise that
customers avoid travel on Friday and re-plan their journey for another day. We will be assessing the
service that can be offered for the rest of the weekend once we have further details about the extent of
the storm. Full information can be found on our website.”

Chris Jackson, regional director for Northern, said: “Storm Eunice will cause widespread disruption across
the network tomorrow, affecting all operators in the region.

“As such, we are advising passengers not to travel and to consider whether the journey is necessary.”

Sarah Reid, East Coast route director for Network Rail, said: “Running a railway through extreme weather
is always a challenge. We have extra workers out on the network at key locations, ready to react quickly to
Storm Eunice and repair the railway wherever it’s safe to do so. As the weather worsens I’d advise
passengers to avoid travelling on Friday and, wherever possible, try to replan your journey when
conditions improve.”

Midlands hurries to clear debris before second storm
After Storm Dudley blew trees and debris across the Midlands on Wednesday night, with the threat of
Storm Eunice looming, teams rushed to clear the lines.

The wind had thrown about everything from trees to a flyaway mattress.

Denise Wetton, Network Rail’s Central route director, said: “With such strong winds expected from Storm
Eunice we know that disruption to passengers’ journeys is inevitable and we strongly recommend people
do not travel on Friday. We have rapid response on standby to clear routes impacted by the bad weather
and keep train passengers safe.”

Lucy Wootton, head of the Grand Railway Collaboration, which represents train operators and Network Rail
in the West Midlands and surrounding areas, said: “We will do all we can to keep trains moving safely and
the rail industry will react as quickly as possible to resolve any storm-related issues. However, we would
urge people to decide if their travel on Friday is vital and if not, to travel on another day if at all possible.”

Great Western Railway – restrictions will be dictated by
the severity of the storm
Speed and service restrictions could alter to adapt to the severity of the storm, said Great Western Railway
(GWR).

GWR managing director Mark Hopwood said: “Speed restrictions will be put in place on our network, but
the extent of those restrictions can only be determined by conditions on the ground and are likely to
change throughout the day.

“We will continue to run as many trains as we can but those who need to travel travel should be aware
that we will have to reduce the number of trains we can run, journey times will take longer, and those
trains we can run will be much busier.

“Please do heed the usual advice to check before you travel, and if you hold a ticket for tomorrow [Friday
18 February] and would like to travel today or up to Monday, we have eased restrictions so that you are
able to do so.”

Greater Anglia, Merseyrail, East Midlands & more: only
travel on route if it is essential
Greater Anglia has said that it is reducing its train services. The reductions service for Friday include:

Half hourly service

   Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street
   Stansted Airport to London

Hourly service

Norwich to London Liverpool Street Intercity service
   Cambridge, Bishop’s Stortford to London Liverpool Street
   Ipswich, Colchester, Chelmsford to London Liverpool Street
   Meridian Water to Stratford
   Southminster – Wickford
   Harwich – Manningtree
   Walton-on-the-Naze – Thorpe-le-Soken
   Clacton-on-Sea – Colchester
   Hertford East – Broxbourne
   Marks Tey to Sudbury
   Norwich to Cambridge,
   Norwich to Great Yarmouth
   Norwich to Lowestoft

Two hourly (once every two hours)

   Norwich to Sheringham
   Ipswich to Cambridge
   Ipswich to Lowestoft
   Ipswich to Felixstowe
   Ipswich to Peterborough

Greater Anglia has said will be contacting any customers who have booked passenger assistance on
affected services. They can also call Greater Anglia to check or rearrange their journey by calling 0800 028
2878 (free from a landline), text type 18001 0800 028 2878 or call from a mobile phone on 0345 6007245.

Customers who have booked tickets for travel on Friday 18 February can use them on another day.
Customers can choose to rearrange their travel plans free of charge, which can be done where they
bought their tickets.

In the event of any additional service disruption, Greater Anglia will do its best to provide a rail
replacement bus service but it is likely to be limited and subject to disruption on the roads due to storm
damage.

Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director said: “We are very sorry to inconvenience customers, but
we want to make sure that we run a safe and reliable service in the extreme conditions that have been
forecast.

“High winds can cause damage to overhead lines and tracks caused by debris or fallen trees, which it may
not be safe to fix immediately until wind levels have dropped.

“There is also a danger of flooding on some of our lines, which could lead to landslips or tracks becoming
unstable.

“Passengers are advised to check before they travel, expect longer journey times and be aware that there
may be short notice cancellations due to trees blocking the line or objects blown onto overhead wires
preventing trains from running.”

Ellie Burrows, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia, said: “We will be doing everything we can to keep as
many services as possible running safely and reliably, but with such strong winds expected we know that
disruption to passengers’ journeys is inevitable.

“We ask passengers to please consider whether your journey is necessary and if you need to travel please
be aware that there may be changes and cancellations at short notice.”

Greg Suligowski, head of customer strategy for Merseyrail, said: “Strong winds are forecast on Friday 18
February and we expect disruption to services from midday.

“Passengers are advised not to travel unless necessary and to prepare alternative transport for the
afternoon in case services can no longer run, as it is unlikely rail replacement busses will be able to
operate.”

Matt Stacey, head of stations at East Midlands Railway, said: “We strongly advise customers who need to
make a journey with us in the next few days to choose either today or Saturday. The strength of Storm
Eunice will mean that on Friday there is likely to be widespread disruption to services across the country’s
rail network.

“However, we understand that not everyone can rearrange their travel plans and customers may still need
to travel by rail. If this is the case, we suggest customers leave themselves plenty of extra time to reach
their destination.”

Alex Cropper, interim head of operations at Transport for Greater Manchester, said: “Storm Eunice is
expected to bring heavy winds which could severely affect public transport across Greater Manchester.

“There is a risk that debris such as trees or branches could be blown onto tracks, disrupting services and
damaging equipment.

“With the Met Office warning that the weather could result in a danger to life, I’d strongly urge people to
stay safe and think carefully before travelling and travel only if absolutely necessary.”