‘Do not travel’ warning issued for train passengers during Storm Éowyn

A ‘DO not travel’ warning has been issued for rail journeys across the north west ahead of Storm Éowyn.

Network Rail is urging people planning rail journeys tomorrow, Friday, to not travel due to the impacts of Storm Éowyn.

A yellow weather warning has been issued across the north west as the storm is predicted to bring the strongest winds seen in a decade.

The Met Office issued warning comes into effect from midnight on Friday morning, and will last for 24 hours.

During that time, rail services in the north west are predicted to be severely impacted and residents living by the railway are advised to tether down loose garden items.

Many services will be cancelled, including routes through Warrington, and rail replacement buses may not operate during this time.

"Our top priority is the safety of our customers and colleagues,” said Andrew McClements, customer experience and transformation director for TransPennine Express.

“We will do everything possible to keep people on the move under difficult conditions, however due to the strong winds forecast for Friday we are asking people not to attempt to travel between Manchester/Liverpool and Glasgow/Edinburgh, or between York, Newcastle, and Edinburgh.

“The majority of our services on these routes will be cancelled and, due to the weather conditions, we will be unable to operate any rail replacement buses.”

Passengers from Warrington Bank Quay will only be able to go as far north as Preston, as services will terminate there between 3am and 10pm on Friday

Network Rail has been closely monitoring the weather forecast for several days and workers are ready to deal with fallen trees and other items blocking the tracks.

“We are expecting severe impacts as a result of Storm Éowyn and the safety of passengers and our staff is our top priority,” said Paul Owen, director of operations for Network Rail’s north west route.

“Our teams have been preparing for this bad weather for several days, and are ready to respond to deal with the impacts of high winds on the railway, such as fallen trees and infrastructure damage.