Passengers heading home from Euston for Christmas faced significant delays on Thursday morning due to an unusual obstruction: a bag caught on the overhead power lines. This incident particularly impacted Avanti West Coast services from Euston to Manchester, resulting in all lines being blocked until an expected clearance time of 12:30 PM.
Network Rail issued a statement informing passengers of the disruption, explaining that engineers were working diligently to remove the bag caught between Stoke and Crewe. This incident added to the challenges already presented by Storm Pia, which has been causing high winds and affecting train services across the north of the country, including Scotland, North Wales, and parts of East Anglia, the Midlands, and North West and North East England.
In a related development, South Western Railway announced severe disruptions on some of its services from Waterloo due to landslip repairs. The disruptions, expected from Wednesday, 27 December to Friday, 29 December, are a result of necessary track access for repairs following a landslip in late November.
South Western Railway advised passengers to travel only if necessary during these days. The repair works will affect services between Woking and Basingstoke, leading to delayed start times for some first services from London Waterloo and altered service frequencies for stations like Alton or Brookwood.
Stuart Meek, Chief Operating Officer at South Western Railway, addressed the situation, acknowledging the complexity of the repairs and the efforts by Network Rail to resolve the issue. “To make more progress, they will once again require access to two of the four tracks in the area which, while disruptive, is the best option available,” he said.
As the UK braces for Storm Pia’s impact, train passengers are urged to stay updated on travel disruptions and plan accordingly. The combined effects of the storm and the unusual incident at Euston underscore the challenges faced by rail services in ensuring passenger safety and maintaining schedules during adverse weather conditions.
