Storm Doris
A part of the UK rail network remains closed as a result of the widespread disruption caused by Storm Doris on February 23.
The Conwy Valley Line is shut until further notice, after a tree felled by high winds disturbed vegetation and a rock face next to the railway between Llanrwst and Blaenau Ffestiniog. Rail replacement bus services were still in operation as this issue of RAIL went to press.
Other routes nationwide were also heavily affected by either speed restrictions or fallen debris, as the storm rapidly swept across the UK bringing gusts of up to 94mph and heavy snowfall in Scotland. Normal service was largely resumed once the storm had abated.
An amber weather warning had been put in place by the Meteorological Office before Doris made landfall in the early hours of February 23, while Network Rail pre-emptively imposed 50mph speed restrictions across much of mid- and north Wales, South East England, and the Chiltern and West Coast Main Lines between London and the West Midlands.
Extra staff were also deployed to quickly deal with anticipated overhead line equipment incidents, flooding or the removal of fallen debris, while passengers were advised to check for service disruptions before travelling. However, nothing proved sufficient to prevent many thousands of commuters facing travel chaos as they tried to get home, with almost every operator forced to cancel or delay services.
Passengers were asked to postpone their journeys until Friday February 24 if possible. Most had to wait to board heavily loaded trains once arterial routes affected by fallen trees had been cleared and speed restrictions lifted.
Several London termini suffered severe overcrowding, while Euston and King’s Cross St Pancras Tube stations were both evacuated for safety reasons. As the evening
rush hour began Liverpool Street, Moorgate and Bank Tube stations were all temporarily closed to avoid any risk of crushing, as passengers feared being stranded across the capital.
Passengers were directed by police to use Baker Street instead of Marylebone, as thousands of football fans attempted to travel to a Europa League match at Wembley featuring Tottenham Hotspur. And services on London’s Underground and Overground networks were part-suspended due to trees on the track.
More than 100 separate incidents across Wales were reported to Network Rail’s and Arriva Trains Wales’ joint operating centre in Cardiff, which orchestrated the repair of 15 damaged trains and the removal of 30 trees and several other items blown onto tracks (including trampolines and shed roofs).
Other transport modes were also severely affected - hundreds of flights were cancelled, and the Dartford Crossing, M80 motorway and Port of Liverpool all closed.
Network Rail spokesman Dan Donovan told RAIL: “Storm Doris was widespread and affected much of the country. During the storm, many services were cancelled or amended, and much of the country had speed restrictions in place to keep everyone safe. We worked with operators across the country to let passengers know alternative routes they could travel on.
“Hundreds of members of the Orange Army were out in terrible conditions to clear the railway of debris, fallen trees, repair overhead lines, and get trains running again so people could get to where they wanted to go.”