Storm Éowyn: Do not travel advice across most of the North West

Posted by author January 23, 2025 Travel

Thursday 23 Jan 2025

Storm Éowyn: Do not travel advice across most of the North West

Region & Route:: North West & Central; |
North West & Central: North West

People planning rail journeys in the North West of England are being urged not to travel on Friday due to the impacts of Storm Éowyn.

The named storm will bring the strongest winds we have seen in a decade between 0300 and 1800 on Friday 24 January and will severely impact rail services north of Preston and south of Carlisle.

On the West Coast Main Line, no services will run North of Preston between 0300 and 2200 on Friday. Services will start and stop at Preston. At Preston station, some platforms may be closed for safety reasons due to high winds
No services will run on the Settle to Carlisle line and the Cumbrian coast line between 0300 on Friday and 12 noon on Saturday
No services will run between Carnforth and Settle from 0300 on Friday to 12 noon Saturday
No services will run on Windermere and Morecambe branches from 0300 on Friday to 12 noon on Saturday
Passengers travelling on the Merseyrail network are advised to check before they travel

The Met Office has issued a red weather warning for Storm Eowyn in Scotland and an amber warning for the rest of the UK meaning there could be danger to life.

Network Rail has been closely monitoring the weather forecast for several days and has scores of workers ready to deal with flash flooding or fallen trees and other items blocking tracks.

Residents living by the railway are advised to tether down loose garden items, like trampolines or gazebos, which are also at risk of blowing onto tracks.

Paul Owen, director of operations for Network Rail’s North West route said: “We are expecting severe impacts as a result of Storm Éowyn and the safety of passengers and our staff is our top priority. Our teams have been preparing for this bad weather for several days, and are ready to respond to deal with the impacts of high winds on the railway, such as fallen trees and infrastructure damage.

“If you live by the railway, please tie down any loose garden items – it’s amazing what can be carried by a strong gust of wind and end up on the tracks, causing unnecessary delays for passengers and freight.”

Andrew McClements, customer experience and transformation director for TransPennine Express, said: “Our top priority is the safety of our customers and colleagues. We will do everything possible to keep people on the move under difficult conditions, however due to the strong winds forecast for Friday we are asking people not to attempt to travel between Manchester/Liverpool and Glasgow/Edinburgh, or between York, Newcastle, and Edinburgh.

The majority of our services on these routes will be cancelled and, due to the weather conditions, we will be unable to operate any rail replacement buses.”

You can find more information on how storms impact the railway and how Network Rail works to keep people on the move here.

Notes to Editors

Train Operating Company travel advice

Avanti West Coast

Due to disruption expected from Storm Éowyn, there are no trains running north of Preston (to/from Cumbria, Glasgow or Edinburgh) on Friday 24 January. Avanti West Coast customers are advised not to attempt to travel on this route.
Customers with existing tickets dated 24 January can use them to travel on any Avanti West Coast service via the same route from Thursday 23 January until end of service on Tuesday 28 January.
Customers who are unable to make or complete their journey due to this disruption can request a full refund from where they bought their ticket.
There is a risk of disruption to services elsewhere on the Avanti West Coast network and customers are strongly advised to check before they travel at: https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/travel-information/live-train-status

Northern

Travel advice – https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/weather-warning

Engineering work

On Sunday 26 January, track renewal work between Rugby and Tamworth/Rugeley Trent Valley will close all lines. An amended timetable will be in place, and rail replacement buses will operate.

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.