Railways hit by delays

Snow drifting on to the tracks caused a huge number of railway services linking London with other parts of the country to be cancelled or severely delayed. Southeastern and South West Trains were the worst affected, with the majority of services suspended. Trains running from King's Cross up the east coast main line were subject to delays of about 30 minutes. Trains on the main link between London and Gatwick Airport were reduced to an hourly service.

The Heathrow Express service was suspended, as were trains between Cambridge and Stansted Airport. Those travelling into the capital from Birmingham, Cardiff and Bristol also faced long waits.

London Underground was one of the worst affected rail networks, with many in the capital waking up to discover that 10 of the 11 lines were either fully or partly suspended.

The Eurostar experienced some problems but services continued throughout the day with delays of about 30 minutes. Further pressure was placed on the service by a sudden influx of travellers forced to seek alternative transportation after their flights from London were cancelled.