Hundreds of thousands of rail passengers face disruption as Storm Amy sweeps in, bringing heavy rain and strong winds.
The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for wind for all of northwest Scotland from 5pm on Friday to 9am on Saturday. Forecasters say: “Storm Amy will bring a spell of damaging winds on Friday evening and night, gradually easing through Saturday.”
Yellow weather warnings for wind and/or rain cover the entire UK north and west of a line from southwest Wales to the Yorkshire coast.
Scotland is the worst-affected UK nation. Speed restrictions are already in place on the West Highland lines linking Glasgow Queen Street with Oban, Fort William and Mallaig.
Stretches of these lines will close at 6pm on Friday, along with connections from Inverness to Perth, Aberdeen, Wick, Thurso and Kyle of Lochalsh.
Passengers with tickets for Friday can use them up to and including Sunday 5 October.
The Caledonian Sleeper linking London Euston with Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William has been cancelled in both directions on Friday night.
Intercity passengers on Anglo-Scottish routes are being urged not to attempt to travel this afternoon. The warnings begin at these times:
- Preston to/from Edinburgh after 12 noon
- Preston to/from Glasgow Central after 5pm
- Newcastle to/from Edinburgh after 4pm
Avanti West Coast is allowing passengers with tickets for later trains to travel on earlier services.
TransPennine Express warns of “delays and short-notice cancellations in both directions” on links on the East and West Coast Main Lines.
“Even though there may be some trains running, there is no guarantee that they will reach their destination,” the rail firm warns.
On Saturday, a “do not travel” warning is in place between Preston and Glasgow Central/Edinburgh all day, and between Newcastle and Edinburgh from 4pm.
The disruption comes after a security alert closed London Euston station on Thursday afternoon, causing dozens of cancellations.
Caledonian MacBrayne ferry links between Oban and the Hebrides are cancelled or disrupted. The ferry line says: “All sailings will be on a heightened risk of disruption or cancellation at short notice due to Storm Amy.”
No ferries will sail between the mainland and the Isle of Arran on Saturday. Many other routes are also facing cancellations.
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