by Judge » Fri Jan 19, 2007 8:57 am
Travel Chaos In The Wake Of Storms Friday January 19, 07:12 AM
Britain's stormy weather may have eased but the travel chaos caused by the fierce winds has not, with widespread disruption across the entire rail network. As the authorities clear affected roads, at least 10 people were killed as the storms with gusts reported of up to 99mph swept across Britain, causing major structural damage.
They included a two-year-old boy who died in London when a brick wall collapsed on him as he was walking with a child minder.
Trains are affected by speed restrictions which inevitably means longer journey times.
Of the main operators, GNER has a much-reduced service on the East Coast main line between London King's Cross, Edinburgh and Newcastle.
Virgin Trains is operating a severely limited service between London Euston to Manchester and Glasgow.
Long delays are also expected on First Great Western services.
South West Trains say they expect early services to be cancelled as fallen trees continue to block lines.
After a difficult day during the storms, airports were reporting they were largely back to normal.
Power companies are working to restore supplies to more than 30,000 homes in the northeast of England, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire which were cut off when power lines crashed down.
Within just one half-hour period on Thursday afternoon, drivers on nine different motorways faced closures and blockages.
The Channel Tunnel high-speed train company Eurostar, cancelled all services due to extreme weather conditions in northern France.
