Travel news - live: London Underground suffers delays and suspensions on all but two lines amid Storm Eunice
Following Storm Dudley, Storm Eunice is set to cause delays and cancellations for travellers
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Storm Eunice is causing UK-wide travel disruption as the country is battered by winds of up to 100mph.
GWR, Great Anglia and Southeastern have all suspended all services for the rest of the day; as have South Western, Chiltern Railways, and the Heathrow and Stansted Express.
In the capital, the London Underground could grind to a halt as extreme weather has affected all but two lines on the Transport for London (TfL) network.
Meanwhile, all trains from Euston station have been cancelled.
A red weather warning is now in place across various parts of the country, with turbulent winds causing havoc for pilots trying to land at Heathrow airport; earlier today, London City Airport suspended all flights.
Train operators and ferry firms are also warning people not to attempt to travel today. All rail services in Wales are suspended for the entire day, with disruption to services expected to continue into the weekend.
Rail passengers who do try to make journeys face much slower trips, with emergency speed restrictions in place and sharply reduced services.
On the Irish Sea, some ferries have been cancelled amid the wild weather.
GWR closes whole network for rest of day
“The whole Great Western Railway network has now been closed and customers are advised NOT TO TRAVEL,” reads an early afternoon update to National Rail.
“Local bus and road transport providers have also suspended services today, so there will be no alternatives in place.
“Tickets dated for travel on Friday 18 February will be valid for travel from Saturday 19 right through to Monday 21 February.”
Read the full story:
Storm Eunice: Which trains are operating across the UK?
As a red weather warning is issued for parts of the country, which train operators are running a reduced service?
Greater Anglia suspends trains to clear track
Due to multiple incidents of trees on the line and trees blocking the railway, Greater Anglia services are suspended on all routes.
“ rain services across the whole Greater Anglia network are suspended until further notice. As soon as we can re-introduce services we will do so, but it is possible that some or even all services may remain suspended for the rest of today potentially into tomorrow (Sat 19 Feb),” reads a 2.21pm tweet from the operator.
All Chiltern Railways trains suspended
Chiltern Railways has reported that “a number of incidents” has suspended its entire network.
A 14:44 update on National Rail reads: “Due to a number of incidents, trains are currently suspended on the whole of the Chiltern Railways network until further notice. It is unlikely that trains will run today.”
Most UK rail operators are saying they are aiming to run a normal schedule tomorrow (Saturday 19 February), but that due to debris and damage requiring engineering works, travellers will have to check back closer to their journey time.
Heathrow Express cancels all trains for rest of the day
Heathrow Express has cancelled all remaining services throughout Friday due to the weather conditions, saying: “No services in either direction due to forecasted severe weather”.
“Services are currently suspended due to severe weather. Please seek alternative travel methods to and from Heathrow Airport,” read tweets from the airport express train.
“We apologise for the inconvenience.”
For Saturday trains, follow updates on their website.
Tube lines disrupted and Euston station closed amid Storm Eunice chaos
Storm Eunice is causing chaos across London’s transport network, with Tube lines disrupted and Euston station completely closed.
Transport for London (TfL) “can’t say” if the London Underground could be suspended amid high winds.
There are minor delays, severe delays or outright suspensions across all lines except the Waterloo and City and the DLR at present. The Bakerloo Line is part suspended (no service between Queens Park and Harrow & Wealdstone), as is London Overground, the Metropolitan Line and TFL Rail.
Meanwhile, Euston Station’s official Twitter account tweeted: “No trains are leaving London Euston currently. Our teams are working on many impacts caused by Storm Eunice.”
Read the breaking story:
Tube lines disrupted and Euston station closed amid Storm Eunice chaos
Widespread disruption reported on London Underground
Your rights if your flight is cancelled
Which? Travel editor Rory Boland has provided some valuable consumer advice for travellers whose flights are being delayed or cancelled amid Storm Eunice winds.
“A significant number of flights are likely to be cancelled as a result of Storm Eunice. These extraordinary circumstances mean you are not entitled to compensation, but your airline is required to pay for food and drink if you need to wait in the airport terminal for your rescheduled flight, and accommodation and transport to it if you are stuck overnight,” says Boland.
“You should contact your airline initially, which should provide vouchers for use at the airport. If it refuses to help, you can purchase what you are entitled to yourself and claim the money back from the airline afterwards. Pay by credit card if you can, and stick to sensibly priced meals and three star hotels - you won’t be able to claim for a lobster dinner or five star suite.”
Over 100,000 people tune in to watch planes trying to land amid 100mph winds
A man streaming live from Heathrow has shot to internet fame for his raucous commentary of planes as they attempt to land amid 100mph winds as Storm Eunice tears its way through the UK.
The storm has brought with it the strongest winds experienced in Britain for over 30 years, prompting the Met Office to issue two “red” weather warnings - posing possible danger to life - in south Wales and southwest England, and in London and the southeast.
Jerry Dyer, who is streaming live from the major international airport in London, saw viewing numbers soar on his channel BigJetTV today - with over 176,000 people currently watching - as planes struggled to make their landings.
Read the full story:
‘Go on son’: Streamer goes live from Heathrow Airport as planes land in Storm Eunice
Jerry Dyer saw viewing numbers soar on his channel BigJetTV - with over 176,000 people currently watching
Port of Dover closed until further notice – with many other ferries cancelled
The UK’s busiest port, Dover, has closed until further notice because of high winds.
In a tweet, travellers were told: “All services between Dover and Calais are suspended until further notice. We expect this to be the case for most of the day and we will provide further information when possible.
“We strongly advise our customers NOT to travel to the Port of Dover today.”
On Friday morning, a gust of 122mph was recorded at the Needles at the western end of the Isle of Wight. Unsurprisingly, all ferries across the Solent from Hampshire to the island – and the hovercraft link from between are all cancelled today.
Wightlink says: “Due to Storm Eunice, all services are now suspended across all three Wightlink routes. All booked customers are asked not to arrive at port until notified.”
Some ferries across the Irish Sea are continuing. Irish Ferries is sailing between Dublin and Holyhead. But Pembroke Rosslare is cancelled – as is Fishguard Rosslare on Stena Line.
In Scotland, Caledonian MacBrayne has cancelled dozens of sailings.
Twitter celebrates as Qatar Airways A380 lands on third attempt
One Qatar Airways A380 has become a hero of Storm Eunice after making three attempts to land at London Heathrow.
Twitter celebrated as flight QR3 from Doha to London landed just over an hour late into Heathrow airport on its third attempt to do so, having made two go-arounds.
Impressed travel fans watched the landing on Big Jet Live’s YouTube channel, posting gifs from football goals to rock’n’roll musicians in celebration.
“I wonder if the pilot of that Qatar Airways A380 knows how many of us were invested in that successful landing today!” tweeted Christian Jenkins.
“Unconfirmed reports that a collective sigh of relief, as the Qatar Airways A380 finally landed at Heathrow, contributed to the gust,” tweeted @E_Sure91.
Great Western Railway network closed completely
National Rail has warned: “The whole Great Western Railway network has now been closed and customers are advised NOT TO TRAVEL.”
The hundreds of passengers on the concourse at the GWR London terminus have been told no trains will run for at least four hours.
They have been urged to “go home”. The problem appears to be overhead line damage west of the station.
Passengers have been told: “ Your ticket for today is valid until the end of Monday, or if it goes unused you can claim a full refund.”
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