Storm Floris live: Rail disruption likely to continue for another day after 90mph winds hit UK – UK Times

The storm has also had a “severe impact” on railways, with a number of services cancelled and speed limits put in place on Monday and Tuesday

Edinburgh to Fife/Perth/Dundee; Perth to Dundee/Aberdeen/Inverness and the West Highland Line are among the routes that were closed at noon on Monday.

Network Rail has reported a number of storm-related incidents, including trees falling onto overhead lines at King’s Park in Glasgow, Cornton near Stirling and near Paisley, and damage to overhead wires in the Hamilton Circle area.

Flying debris from gardens interfered with overhead wires causing many train routes to be shut down, including Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh.

“We get all sorts of strange items blown onto tracks during very windy weather.,” Network Rail posted on X with an angry face emoji.

“Here’s a garden gazebo – complete with lights – on the railway in #Huyton, Merseyside. Always tie down large items if you live near the railway – they can disrupt train services.”

With Storm Floris moving eastwards into Tuesday, what can the UK expect in the coming week?

Here is what the Met Office says…

Damage by Storm Floris on railways in Scotland is “extensive”, ScotRail has said.

Work will soon begin to recover a number of routes which have been put out of action.

“The damage caused by the storm has been extensive, including trees falling onto overhead wires and tracks,” ScotRail said on X.

“Network Rail will soon begin work to recover the railway, as a number of routes will need to be inspected once the storm has passed and then repair work carried out.

“While some checks will be carried out later tonight, further inspections will be needed during daylight hours, which will cause disruption to services on some routes on Tuesday morning.”

Our travel correspondent Simon Calder has reported that a pilot was forced to abandon a landing in Scotland.

An easyJet flight from Luton to Inverness flew 900 miles on an “flight to nowhere”.

Flight 632 took off from the Bedfordshire airport just before 12 noon and flew normally at 36,000 feet to the Scottish airport. But at just 2,000 feet above the ground, the pilots of the Airbus A319 decided to abandon the landing, and flew back to Luton. After a total of 2 hours and 25 minutes in the air, the plane touched down back at its starting place.

Passengers were told: “Strong winds in Inverness are preventing aircraft from arriving and departing. The safety of you and our crew is our highest priority and we thank you for your understanding.”

Under air passengers’ rights rules, travellers must be flown to their destination as soon as possible on any airline.

The aviation data analyst, Cirium, has confirmed research by The Independent that Belfast City and Aberdeen are the airports worst affected by Storm Floris.

At Belfast City, 10 departures and 11 arrivals have been grounded. At Aberdeen, 12 departures have been cancelled – but only six arrivals are axed.

A number of campervans earlier blew over on the A87 road, which leads to Portree on the Isle of Skye, as Storm Floris hit Scotland.

Police are advising drivers to stay away from the Bealach na Ba road in Wester Ross due to the high rinds.

Police Scotland said: “We have received multiple reports of campervans being blown over on the A87 between Broadford and Portree due to high winds caused by Storm Floris.

“We are advising motorists not to travel on the Bealach na Ba road and anyone with campervans should remain parked in sheltered areas until the wind speed reduces.”

Passengers stuck at Glasgow Central train station are facing hours of disruption and as many as nine cancellations, they told the PA news agency.

Robert Kusz, 70, and Paul Audoire, 59, had enjoyed a caravan holiday with relatives when they were delayed at Glasgow Central.

Their previous plan was to travel to Preston and change to Blackpool.

Mr Kusz told the PA news agency: “There has been about nine cancellations.

“If we can get connecting trains we could get to Blackpool by 4.30pm.

“It will add a couple of hours to the journey, maybe two-and-a-half hours.”

Mr Audoire said: “The weather is not as bad as we thought, they are just taking precautions.

“We need to get off at Carlisle, wait for another train, get off at Preston and change trains again.

“I don’t know how long we need to wait at Carlisle or at Preston. It’s just a case of leapfrogging all the way.”

More than 43,000 homes in Scotland were out of supply as of earlier this evening, according to the lates update from Scottish & Southern Electricity Network (SSEN).

At around 7pm, 9,000 homes had been reconnected.