Further rail disruption after Storm Ciaran chaos

LNER advised passengers not to travel until Saturday.

Rail services remain disrupted as the UK feels the after-effects of the devastating Storm Ciaran (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Archive)

Rail services remain disrupted as the UK feels the after-effects of the devastating Storm Ciaran.

LNER, the main train operator on the East Coast Main Line between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley, advised passengers not to travel until Saturday.

A significant number of delays and cancellations was expected as trains and staff are out of position following power supply failures at both ends of the route on Thursday.

A power surge caused a signalling failure at Edinburgh Waverley, while damage to overhead wires in the Peterborough area led to the line being blocked.

Several other train operators also warned over disruption on Friday while debris from Storm Ciaran was cleared from tracks.

The threat of flooding remains high in the south of England.

Some 67 flood warnings are in place with 209 flood alerts stretching up through the country, after the south coast and the Channel Islands were battered with heavy rain and gusts of up to 100mph on Thursday.

The extreme weather brought downpours and strong winds to Scotland and parts of northern England on Friday.

Nearly 150,000 homes were left without power, and by 4pm on Thursday around 11,300 properties still had no electricity.

Some 135,700 had been reconnected, the Energy Networks Association (ENA) said.

A spokesperson said: “By working together in very challenging conditions, so far today network operators have reconnected 92% of customers affected by storm-related power cuts.

“While difficult conditions remain, with violent winds forecast until the end of the day, teams from across the country are working together to continue to reconnect customers where it is safe to do so.”

A Met Office yellow weather warning for rain is in place for north-east Scotland, with the threat of difficult driving conditions, flooding and delays or cancellations to train and bus services.

Floods minister Rebecca Pow said potential flooding risks remained across the UK with river levels still high, large waves at the coast and saturated ground.

All schools on Jersey remain closed, with islanders urged to stay at home on Friday,

Schools in Guernsey and Alderney opened as normal except for the College of Further Education, which has suffered significant water damage.

Guernsey locals are no longer being asked to stay indoors, but have been told to take extra precautions when travelling because of the state of the roads.

Pondhu Primary School in St Austell, Cornwall, was shut on Friday due to extensive flooding, with the school saying it needed time to “dry and clean the building so the children can return safely”.

Damage to properties in Jersey meant some residents had to evacuate their homes and seek refuge in a hotel, with one woman saying hailstones “bigger than a golf ball” had broken her windows.

The Met Office described the Channel Islands as having endured “supercell thunderstorms”, where locals faced frequent lightning, large hailstones and a possible hurricane.