Rail passengers face chaos tomorrow when Storm Eowyn hits Britain as five train operators issued ‘do not travel’ warnings ahead of a major network shutdown.

LNER, Avanti West Coast, TransPennine Express, Northern and Lumo have all told passengers not to attempt to use services on parts of their routes tomorrow.

National Rail added that CrossCountry, ScotRail and Transport for Wales are also advising of potential disruption – while other operators could be added to the list.

Widespread travel disruption is expected with the UK braced for 90mph gusts, torrential rain and heavy snow as the storm is set to strike from midnight tonight.

The south coast of England, parts of the South West and much of the Welsh coast are covered by a yellow weather warning for wind from 7am until 6pm today.

But forecasters predict the most severe conditions will arrive tomorrow, when the whole of the UK is covered by at least one warning for snow, wind or rain.

Flights could also be impacted, with Jet2 warning of ‘some disruption should the weather deteriorate’ and Aer Lingus telling of ‘potential disruption to travel’. 

Here is how Storm Eowyn is expected to impact trains when it hits tomorrow:

LNER

Travellers could become stranded in the North of England as LNER has warned there will be no trains in either direction north of Newcastle from 11am tomorrow.

The operator said people were ‘strongly advised to avoid travelling north of York if you can’ given ‘services will be subject to short-notice cancellation and significant delay’.

It added: ‘Alternative travel options will also be limited due to the nature of the weather’.

Those with an LNER ticket dated for tomorrow can instead use it on another service operated by the firm today or any day up to and including Monday at no extra cost.

However there are also no direct services to or from London King’s Cross this weekend due to previously planned engineering works between Peterborough and the capital.

AVANTI WEST COAST

Avanti West Coast said the storm will ‘severely disrupt’ its services tomorrow, with passengers advised ‘not to travel north of Preston or on the North Wales route’.

Anyone due to travel on these routes tomorrow should instead use their ticket on any Avanti service via the same route from today until the end of service on Sunday.

The firm said: ‘We’re asking customers not to travel north of Preston or between Chester and Holyhead on January 24 due to the expected disruption by Storm Éowyn.’

NORTHERN

The storm is expected to affect various routes on the Northern network tomorrow, with the operator ‘advising customers to avoid travelling where possible’.

It added: If you do choose to travel make sure you check before travelling as trains may be cancelled at very short notice with onward connection not possible.

‘Try not to rely on the last services of the day, as they may be cancelled, and bad weather may restrict road transport.’

Northern is telling passengers ‘do not travel’ for the following routes, which means there are no trains or replacement bus services available.

• Oxenholme to Windermere (Windermere branch)
• Barrow – Carlisle (Cumbrian Coast)
• Settle – Carlisle
• Barrow / Windermere – Manchester Airport
• Carlisle – Barrow / Lancaster
• Morecambe Heysham Port – Lancaster
• Blackpool North to York (from Bradford to Blackpool)
• Wigan to Leeds
• Manchester Victoria – Leeds
• Huddersfield – Sheffield (Penistone Line )
• Hebden Bridge – Halifax (Calder valley)
• Leeds – Nottingham
• Newcastle – Carlisle
• Ashington – Newcastle (Northumberland line)

Northern also said ‘we strongly advise you do not travel’ on other routes, given there will be ‘large gaps in services or the route will only be partially served’:

• Leeds – Lincoln (will operate between Sheffield – Lincoln only)
• Sheffield – Scarborough (will operate between Hull – Scarborough only)
• York – Bridlington (will operate between Hull – Bridlington only)
• Leeds – Knottingley
• York – Blackpool North (will operate between Bradford Interchange – York only)
• Leeds – Harrogate
• Leeds – Chester (will operate between Chester and Manchester Victoria)

TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS

Customers using TransPennine Express have been told ‘do not travel’ tomorrow between Liverpool, Manchester and Scotland, and between York, Newcastle and Edinburgh.

The operator added: ‘Services which do operate across the rest of the TransPennine Express network will run to an amended timetable and may be subject to significant disruption with short notice delays, alterations and cancellations all possible.’

Tickets for TransPennine Express journeys including any connections which are dated tomorrow will be valid from today until Monday inclusive, at no extra cost.

LUMO

Lumo, which runs services on the East Coast Main Line, said the weather will ‘severely disrupt’ its trains between Edinburgh and London Kings Cross.

The route between Newcastle and Edinburgh will be closed tomorrow for safety reasons, with the operator saying: ‘Therefore, you cannot travel between these stations as there are no alternative travel arrangements in place.’

Tickets for Lumo services dated tomorrow can only be used on any Lumo service today, or Monday, at no extra cost.

The operator added that customers will not be able to travel south of Newcastle this weekend due to engineering works between Peterborough and London King’s Cross.