Are trains cancelled today? Storm Dudley travel disruption, including ScotRail cancellations and road closures

Strong winds of up to 90mph brought by Storm Dudley could pose a danger to life, forecasters have warned.

The Met Office has issued an amber warning for “very strong and disruptive” winds which could cause widespread chaos, including a “good chance” of power cuts and disruption to transport services.

The warning says: “Injuries and danger to life is likely from large waves and beach material being thrown onto coastal roads, sea fronts and properties.”

An amber wind warning for the majority of England, plus yellow wind and snow warnings covering Northern Ireland and most of Southern Scotland, are both in place for Friday 18 February.

This is everything you need to know about the transport services affected by Storm Dudley.

ScotRail

The Scottish rail company has announced that the majority of its train services in Scotland would end at 4pm on Wednesday 16 February.

On Tuesday (15 February), ScotRail announced that the majority of its train services would be shut down from 4pm on Wednesday 16 February.

It followed up with another tweet which said: “Our services on the Far North, Kyle of Lochalsh, and Aberdeen-Inverness lines will continue to run because those lines are located in areas not covered by the weather warning.”

In response to one customer asking if these cancellations would carry on into Thursday, it said that “early morning services are likely to be affected as Network Rail staff will have to do line safety checks to make sure no trees, etc. are on our railways”.

This morning (17 February), ScotRail said: “Due to the early shut down following #StormDudley we’re doing our best to get our services back up and running as quickly as possible. As @networkrailscot engineers continue to do safety checks our services will not run until the lines have been cleared as safe to re-open.

“Customers with valid tickets for travel yesterday will be allowed to use them on our services today on any reasonable route to their destination.

“As a result of strong winds and heavy rain due to #StormDudley Scotrail passenger services are withdrawn until approximately 1000 today with the exception of the following services:”

National Rail

The National Rail website currently warns that Storm Eunice could affect your travel.

It states that “Storm Eunice is likely to affect journeys across most of England, Wales and southern Scotland”.

You can see more about which services have been affected on the National Rail website.

Caledonian MacBrayne Ferries

An announcement by Caledonian MacBrayne Ferries has said that, with the arrival of Storm Dudley and Storm Eunice, “travel disruption on our network is very likely”.

The company said on Twitter: “There is weather disruption across the network today so before you travel... Check the statu of your route, plan ahead & be prepared, allow extra travel time for your journey.”

According to its website, some cancelled routes include Oban to Coll and Tiree, Berneray to Leverburgh and Mallaig to Small Isles.

You can see which services have been affected on the Caledonian MacBrayne website. 

Forth Road Bridge

High winds could see the Forth Road Bridge be closed off to travellers.

The Forth Road Bridge procedures go as follows:

• Gusts > 35mph: 40mph speed limit on bridge
• Gusts > 45mph: closed to double decker buses
• Gusts > 50mph: closed to motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians
• Gusts > 65mph: closed to all traffic 

Currently, the Forth Road Bridge website has the current conditions listed 36mph, meaning that that there is a speed limit of 40mph on the bridge.

National Highways

National Highways, which looks after England’s trunk roads and motorways, has warned that some bridges may be closed to traffic in the event of “persistent high winds”.

Head of Road Safety at National Highways, Jeremy Phillips, said: “We’re encouraging drivers to check the latest weather and travel conditions before setting off on journeys and consider if their journey is necessary and can be delayed until conditions improve.

“In high winds, there’s a particular risk to lorries, caravans and motorbikes so we’d advise drivers of these vehicles to slow down.

“Drivers of other vehicles should be aware of sudden gusts of wind which can affect handling and braking, and give high-sided vehicles, caravans, and motorbikes plenty of space.

“In the event of persistent high winds we may need to close bridges to traffic for a period, so please be alert for warnings of closures and follow signed diversion routes.”

Avanti West Coast

On Twitter, Avanti West Coast said: “Due to Storm Eunice, we’ll be operating an amended timetable on Friday 18 February with journey times extended due to speed restrictions.

“We strongly recommend customers do not travel on Friday 18 & instead travel on Thursday 17 or Saturday 19 Feb with their original tickets.”

You can see more about the services that have been affected on the Avanti West Coast website. 

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