Flooding closes railway between Cumbria and Scotland

Flooded tracks have forced train operators to cancel services between Cumbria and Scotland in a day of disruption on the rail network caused by strong winds and heavy rain.

National Rail said flooding between Penrith North and Lockerbie meant all lines were now blocked.

Network Rail Scotland tweeted images of the rails which are currently about a foot under water.

Passengers travelling between Carlisle and Glasgow Central or Edinburgh are advised not to travel, with major disruption expected until at least the end of the day.

It has been a day of chaos across the network, with many routes subject to severe delays due to debris on the tracks.

Speed restrictions have also been imposed, particularly in coastal areas, where wind speeds are forecast to hit 60mph.

In London, services have been suspended between West Ham and Limehouse when a tree caused damage to the overhead wires.

WEATHER Warnings
WEATHER Warnings

In the south east, a train used on the Marks Tey to Sudbury line was hit by two trees with the resulting damage meaning the entire branch line will be suspended for the rest of the weekend.

Trees on the lines caused delays between Ashford International and Hastings, Guildford and Reading, Newbury and Westbury and between Ipswich and Lowestoft on Saturday morning.

All the trees have since been cleared, National Rail said, although passengers may still experience disruption.

Network Rail has urged passengers to check for updates before they travel.

Mumbles Head on the south coast of Wales has seen the strongest winds so far, clocking up 61mph on Saturday morning, followed by Pembrey Sands in Carmarthenshire at 56mph.

Elsewhere, Langdon Bay in east Kent recorded wind speeds of 53mph, the Met Office said.

Here is the radar from so far today showing heavy #rain and #showers across the UK

Stay #WeatherAware ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/MW9W6GsRF3

— Met Office (@metoffice) August 10, 2019

Greg Dewhurst, a Met Office meteorologist, said: “For the rest of the day it will stay quite windy across England and Wales, there is a yellow weather warning in place until midnight tonight.

“We’re likely to continue to see gusts of 40mph to 50mph, perhaps closer to 60mph nearer to the coast.”

He said the heavy rain and thunderstorms across northern England and Scotland would continue for the rest of the day, with further heavy rain forecast until about mid morning on Sunday.

The yellow weather warning across almost all of Scotland and northern England will come to an end at midnight, but a yellow rain warning will be in force until 10am on Sunday in the Glasgow area.

Across the rest of the country, the weather is expected to be much more settled on Sunday with showers and some patches of sunshine coming through.

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