‘Do not travel’ message issued for Friday as East Coast Main Line and North East braces for Storm Éowyn

Posted by author January 23, 2025 Travel

Thursday 23 Jan 2025

‘Do not travel’ message issued for Friday as East Coast Main Line and North East braces for Storm Éowyn

Region & Route:: Eastern; |
Eastern: East Coast; |
Eastern: North & East

Network Rail is urging passengers using the East Coast Main Line and across the North East not to travel on Friday as Storm Éowyn brings high winds.

There are multiple weather warnings in place across the country, with northern areas expected to be most affected.

Passengers are advised not to travel north of York on Friday. There will be no trains north of Newcastle after 11am, with some lines closed and further restrictions on services possible.

Passengers are encouraged to travel today (Thursday), where possible, and are reminded that there are no trains in or out of London King’s Cross on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 January because of planned, vital engineering work.

East Coast Main Line tickets for Friday are being accepted today – and through to Monday – to allow passengers to avoid the worst of the storm.

Sam MacDougall, Network Rail operations director, said: “Storm Éowyn will bring high winds which will have an effect on our ability to run trains on the East Coast Main Line and in the North East.

“This weather arrives just before our engineering work on the south end of the East Coast Main Line, with no trains to or from King’s Cross at the weekend, so passengers are urged to travel early, today if they can, to avoid being further affected after the worst of the storm has passed.

“The decision to tell passengers not to travel is not taken lightly, but given Friday’s forecast it’s the best way of keeping people safe.”

A spokesperson on behalf of train operators said: “We have made proactive decisions, in partnership with Network Rail, to keep our customers safe ahead of the arrival of Storm Éowyn, with disruption expected across the rail network.

“Changes have been made to services already, with further short-notice alterations possible as the storm arrives. Up-to-date travel information and alternative travel options can be found on National Rail Enquiries or on our social media channels and websites.”

Residents living near to the railway are urged to tie down loose garden items, like trampolines or gazebos, which pose a risk of blowing onto the railway and could cause further unnecessary delays for passenger and freight services.

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain’s railway infrastructure; that’s 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK’s largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country’s train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain’s railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation’s railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced – a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.