Travel news: Monday’s rain and flooding causes delays and road closures | UK News
Commuters face more travel misery today as the ongoing effects of heavy rain and flooding extend to a second day.
The A421 in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire is still closed due to flooding blocking the road in both directions.
This is having a knock-on effect on the A5, which is also blocked on its northbound carriageway.
Yesterday saw railway lines flooded up and down the UK as huge swathes of the country were impacted by an amber weather warning for rain. Passengers might be entitled to delay compensation, so scroll down for more details.
A driver had to be rescued from their flooded car in Wallington, south London, while parts of the London Underground and Overground were suspended due to the flooding.
Car fire causes hour-long delays on the M62
The burnt up car is blocking the M62 in West Yorkshire (Picture: National Highways)
Traffic struggles to cope on the M62 after a car fire outside Bradford, West Yorkshire.
The motorway is blocked westbound between junction J27 (M621/Gildersome) and J26 (M606/J1 Chain Bar), with just one lane remaining open.
National Highways warned of 60-minute delays against expected traffic.
British Airways cancels summer flights from Southampton
The airline has cancelled all of its flights from Southampton Airport next summer.
Congestion after crash in west London
A crash at lunchtime is causing congestion on the A316 in Chiswick.
It happened at about 1pm on the A316 Burlington Lane on the northbound lane near the A4 (Hogarth Roundabout).
As a result, congestion stretches to the cemetery and past Chiswick House.
District line on the Tube is part suspended
The London Underground line has been partially suspended after an earlier signal failure.
As a result, the District line has no service between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road.
The stretch between Earl’s Court and Wimbledon has minor delays, the latest TfL travel alert says.
How to get compensation if your train is delayed
Being stuck on a delayed train is frustrating when you have places to be.
Many passengers spent longer on journeys yesterday and today due to delays caused by flooding across the rail network.
The thin silver lining is that passengers may be entitled to compensation – you might have heard an announcement on board saying you could make a claim.
Here is our delay compensation guide.
In case your train was delayed or cancelled and you chose not to travel, the original retailer can refund it without any fees
Compensation usually kicks in if a train is delayed more than 15 minutes, but longer delays will be compensated differently than short ones
You will need to request compensation directly from your train company
National Rail has a handy list of UK rail operators here.
The refund amount will depend on which company you used, the type of ticket, and the length of delay
The claims can be made online or by post using a form that can be downloaded from a train company website or picked up from a staffed station
It is worth noting down the times of travel when you’re travelling and face delays
Also, delay compensation claims might have a cut-off point after some time, so it is worth making a claim as soon as possible after travel.
Animals on the road at Dartford Bypass
Drivers have been warned of congestion on the A2 near Dartford and M25 after loose animals on the carriageway.
Traffic is queueing due to the escape artists running wild on the bypass.
One lane out of four is closed eastbound at B255 Bean Lane (Bean Interchange), according to an Inrix alert.
It is causing tailbacks to the A282 Dartford Crossing.
Severe delays on the London Underground
The London Underground coped well through the morning rush hour, but now Elizabeth and Victoria lines are disrupted.
Elizabeth line – Serious delays between Shenfield and Whitechapel due repairs to fix a failed signal system
Victoria line – Severe delays due to an earlier faulty train at Highbury & Islington. Passengers can use tickets on the Overground, Great Northern, Thameslink, Greater Anglia, SWR and Southeastern trains
Delays at Gatwick Airport today
The UK’s second busiest airport appears to have no cancellations so far today, but there are delays.
Here are the departing flights that were listed as delayed.
Iberia/EasyJet/Vueling/British Airways at 9.10am to Barcelona
EasyJet at 9.10am to Palma de Mallorca
British Airways at 9.25am to Dublin
EasyJet at 9.55am to Faro
British Airways at 11.15am to Izmir
British Airways at 1.35pm to Antalya
EasyJet at 3.15pm to Enfidha
Flights cancelled at Heathrow
Some flights have been cancelled and delayed at Heathrow and Gatwick (Picture: Tolga Akmen/Getty Images)
The London airports managed to avoid weather-related issues yesterday during heavy downpours.
A handful of flights were axed at Heathrow yesterday, but these were unrelated to the weather.
Here are the departing flights that appeared as cancelled on the Heathrow Airport departure board shortly before 9am.
Cancellations at Heathrow
British Airways at 6.40am to Tel Aviv
British Airways at 7.40am to Bologna
KLM at 8.40am to Amsterdam
British Airways at 8.50am to Munich
British Airways at 9.20am to Milan
British Airways at 10.25am to Delhi
British Airways at 12.05pm to Brussels
British Airways at 12.20pm to Milan
United Airlines at 12.20pm to San Francisco
Virgin Atlantic at 12.45pm to Seattle
British Airways 4.30pm to Rome
British Airways at 5.15pm to Edinburgh
British Airways at 6.15pm to Glasgow
Issues on CrossCountry and SWR trains after signal failure
This is affecting CrossCountry and South Western Railway (SWR) trains between Bournemouth, London Waterloo and Manchester.
The faulty signal system was spotted between Basingstoke and Winchester.
As a result, trains might be cancelled, revised or delayed by up to 30 minutes.
And the disruption is not expected to clear anytime soon – National Rail estimates it could continue until 4pm.
Here are the affected routes.
CrossCountry – Manchester Piccadilly / Birmingham New Street and Bournemouth
South Western Railway – Basingstoke and Bournemouth, between Winchester and Southampton Central / Bournemouth / Poole, and also between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour / Southampton Central / Bournemouth / Weymouth
Freight train blocks tracks at Hackney Wick
Commuters were left frustrated at Hackney Wick, east London, after a freight train blocked the tracks at peak rush hour.
Footage shows the container freight train sitting on the tracks on platform two this morning.
An eyewitness said all trains going east were delayed because the container train was sat on the tracks for 20 minutes.
Signalling fault disrupts trains between Romford and London Liverpool Street
Another signalling issue has hit the railway network – this time at Maryland, east London.
Unfortunately for passengers, Elizabeth line on the London Underground and Greater Anglia trains could be cancelled, delayed by up to 25 minutes or revised.
At the moment, the disruption is expected to clear just after rush hour at 9.30am.
The rest of the Elizabeth line has good service.
Rush hour delays at Blackwall Tunnel
Drivers heading to Blackwall Tunnel should allow extra time and patience after a warning over long delays.
Traffic analyst Inrix says the A102 northbound before the tunnel has heavy congestion, stretching to the A2 into Blackheath.
Traffic appears to move slowly in both Blackwall Tunnel South and North.
Heavy flooding blocks train tracks in Oxfordshire
Train lines towards London from Banbury and Bicester North are blocked after heavy flooding.
This means commuters on Chiltern Railways face delays of up to half an hour, cancellations or diversions.
Trains towards London will skip Bicester North, so passengers should travel from Bicester Village instead, National Rail said.
The disruption is expected to last until 12 midday, but this might be revised.
Passengers can use their tickets on Great Western Railway between Banbury and London.
The affected routes are Birmingham Snow Hill / Birmingham Moor Street / Banbury and London Marylebone.
Flooding disrupting trains between Rugby and Milton Keynes
This is affecting all Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway services running between Rugby and Milton Keynes.
The disruption is set to last throughout the rush hour period, and is predicted to end at around 10am.
National Rail has provided advice for people hoping to travel to or through these stations this morning:
Avanti West Coast
You can use your ticket to travel on the following service at no extra cost:
CrossCountry, London North Eastern Railway, London Northwestern Railway and TransPennine Trains via any reasonable.
Great Western Railway and Northern via any reasonable route.
London Northwestern Railway
You may use your ticket on Avanti West Coast services via any reasonable route.
Rail replacement transport (supplied via Stagecoach) is operating between Northampton and Milton Keynes Central via Wolverton.
September 24, 2024 6:59 am
Flooding causes disruption between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings
Yesterday’s flooding is still having an impact in Kent and Sussex. Part of the signalling system failed near Wadhurst after heavy rain partially flooded the railway.
Repairs weren’t completed overnight, so Southeastern’s Hastings line won’t be able to run a full service until the end of the day.
An hourly train will run between Hastings and Tonbridge all day today, but services could still be cancelled, delayed by up to 45 minutes, or changed.
London Underground updates
The Tube is currently running fairly smoothly this morning, with just some minor delays on three lines.
The Hammersmith & City and Circle lines are both facing minor delays due to a signalling problem in the Hammersmith area.
Meanwhile the District line is also facing minor delays between Earl’s Court and Wimbledon after a signal failure at East Putney.
TfL says there’s good service on the rest of the District line.
Disruption in south London after points failure near London Bridge
Bad news for Thameslink users (Picture: TOLGA AKMEN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Thameslink trains running between Rainham and Luton are currently disrupted, and the points failure is expected to keep causing issues until 9am.
Thameslink services that would normally run between Rainham and Luton, via London Bridge, will be reduced.
They will now operate a shuttle service between Rainham and Dartford.
Journey planners are being updated right now, so short notice service alterations will be taking place.
