Storm Gerrit causes UK travel chaos with drivers stuck in snow as trains blocked
Storm Gerrit has brought widespread disruption to drivers and travellers heading home and back to work after the Christmas holidays.
Wind gusts of 80mph, heavy rain and snow have caused delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport.
A major incident was declared on the A9 in Scotland after heavy snowfall caused drivers to become stuck in the snow near the Drumochter mountain pass in the Highlands. Snow ploughs were used to clear a way through and some drivers turned back, choosing to stay another night with friends or book hotel rooms.
BEAR Scotland, which manages the trunk roads in the area, described the conditions as âextremely challengingâ. It sent six ploughs and three tractors to the scene.
The A9 further south at Ballinluig in Perthshire was also closed by police due to flooding.
Elsewhere in Scotland, the storm led to power cuts at some 27,000 properties north of the border, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution said.
ScotRail was forced to suspend all services from Wednesday afternoon until Thursday due to the extreme weather.
LNER, which operates trains between London and Scotland on the East Coast Main Line, urged passengers not to travel if possible as it cancelled numerous services.
Passengers using Avanti West Coast were also told by the operator not to attempt travel north of Preston.
It said customers with tickets for travel between Preston and Edinburgh/Glasgow will be able to those for travel on either 28 or 29 December.
Air travel was significantly disrupted as British Airways confirmed it cancelled 18 flights.
A British Airways spokesman said: âAs a result of air traffic control restrictions put in place because of Storm Gerrit, we have had to make some adjustments to our schedule today.
âWe have apologised to our customers for any disruption to their travel plans and our teams are working hard to get them on their way as quickly as possible.â
Flooding between Lockerbie and Carlisle blocked all rail lines between those stations. Residents in Fife had to be rescued from their homes following severe flooding in the town of Cupar.
As much as 80mm of rain fell in Cumbria, the Met Office said.
Ferry operator Red Funnel, which provides services between Southampton and Cowes on the Isle of Wight, cancelled its Red Jet passenger services due to strong winds.
Trains between Newcastle and Edinburgh were also blocked due to flooding and the line between St Pancras and Luton was also closed. Paddington, which was due to reopen today, will remain closed until Thursday.
Kingâs Cross station was full to the brim with crowds of passengers attempting to complete journeys amid various delays and cancellations.
One passenger who spoke to i said the atmosphere at the station was âcrazyâ, adding that there was a âmad stampedeâ through the barriers when the platform for a delayed train was announced.
Yellow weather warnings for wind and rain were in place earlier on Wednesday for much of the southern coast of England, north west England and Wales and Northern Ireland, with snow warnings also issued for Scotland.
A yellow weather warning for wind has come into force for Wales and parts of northwest England. It is set to remain in place until 3am on Thursday.
For the week ahead, New Yearâs Eve is set to see âferociousâ winds strike the UK when a second Atlantic storm lands in the wake of Storm Gerrit.
Senior meteorologist Jim Dale of the British Weather Services has urged Britons to prepare for the incoming weather front.
Mr Dale said: âI encourage anyone travelling on New Yearâs Eve to do so sooner rather than later on Sunday as these winds will be ferocious.â
âThe atmosphere at Kingâs Cross was crazyâ
Giselle Leeb, an author, spent six hours and 40 minutes trying to get home to Beeston, Nottinghamshire, from a Christmas visit to Chichester in West Sussex on Wednesday.
She told i: âMy second train was cancelled and then the third delayed so I had to find an alternative route, then the fourth train from Kings Cross was too full to get on.
âThe atmosphere at Kingâs Cross was crazy and there was a mad stampede through the barriers when the platform was announced, with a lot of very upset people who had several trains cancelled and couldnât get on the full train.
âI finally managed to get on a train to Leeds that stopped at Grantham.
âThe stops on the train notice board werenât the same as the announced stops and a lot of people including me were confused.
âThe aisles were too blocked to find any staff.
âThe train to Nottingham was also delayed but I finally made it to Nottingham then Beeston,â two hours later than planned.
âNo food and drink and only one working toilet on sold-out trainâ
Ely King, a junior publicist, said she only discovered her 12:54pm train from Hartlepool to London Kings Cross was cancelled after she checked the app.
âThe train was cancelled up to York, so if you were able to get to York your original seats and ticket were valid. I weighed up the options of trying to get to York, or trying to wait for the next grand central that would have two trains worth of people, plus there was no guarantee that it wouldnât also be cancelled.
Ms Kingâs grandparents were able to drive her the hour journey to York so she could catch her part-cancelled train.
âHowever weâre now down petrol costs and the stress of it all.
âGrand Central gave the explanation of train faults plus the weather â which was evident considering the fridges werenât working, so no cold food or drinks, and the train hadnât been hooked to water so no hot drinks or water available. Plus, only one working toilet on the entire sold-out train.â
