Transport chaos: Commuters facing disruption to air, rail and roads as Storm Eunice strikes
Commuters are being urged not to travel today (Friday 18 February) as Storm Eunice strikes Southern England.
The Met Office issued a 'rare' red weather warning for southern and southeastern parts of the UK, with winds of up to 80mph likely until 1500 this afternoon.
Gusts of 92mph have already been recorded at the Needles on the Isle of Wight.
Transport companies across the entire sector are now feeling the brunt of the storm, with rail, airline, and ferry companies warning of significant delays and cancellations.
This page will be updated throughout the day with the latest information as we have it.
Rail Services
Operators across the Meridian region are urging passengers to stay home and to avoid using their services wherever possible.
South Western Railway, Southeastern, Great Western Railway and Chiltern railways have suspended their services for the rest of Friday with no replacement transport available.
One operator, Chiltern, has gone as far as saying that if there was any day to work from home, it is today.
Others, such as Southern and Thameslink, have warned that there will be no alternative transport if trains are cancelled and that journeys cannot be guaranteed.
Disruption to rail services
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways is strongly recommending that customers DO NOT TRAVEL by train today unless their journey is absolutely essential.
If customers decide not to travel with tickets that they have already purchased, full fee-free refunds for completely unused tickets will be available from the original point of sale.
The operator adds that 'If customers are able to work from home, Friday would be a good day to do that.'
Tickets that have already been purchased for travel on Friday will be accepted on our services on Saturday (19th) February.
10:36am - No service on Chiltern Railways between Harrow on the Hill and Aylesbury Vale Parkway due to fallen tree on the line.
A significantly reduced timetable will be in operation all day.
One train per hour (each direction) between Birmingham Moor Street and London Marylebone
One train per hour (each direction) between Oxford and London Marylebone
One train per hour (each direction) between Aylesbury and London Marylebone (via Amersham on the Metropolitan Line)
One train per hour (each direction) between Aylesbury and London Marylebone (via High Wycombe)
There will be no trains between Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa
Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
14:27 - All trains from Paddington through the Thames Valley have been suspended.
Great Western Railway is warning that services running across its network may be cancelled or delayed, with disruption is expected until the end of the day. To make sure trains are able to run safely, speed restrictions will be required across the entire GWR network. The operator says its priority will be to keep trains running and customers moving safely, but changes to services are likely to be needed to allow that to happen and customers may wish to alter their plans. - High speed services London Paddington Bristol Temple Meads 1 train per hour in either direction - London Paddington Cardiff Central/Swansea The mainline in South Wales will be closed all day on Friday. There will be no GWR services operating between London & South Wales. Customers are advised not to travel to/from South Wales. An hourly service will continue to operate between London Paddington and Bristol Parkway. - London Paddington Worcester/Hereford Services will operate between Didcot Parkway & Worcester/Great Malvern only. Customers should change at Didcot Parkway for onward connections towards Reading & London Paddington. - London Paddington Cheltenham Spa Services will operate between Swindon and Cheltenham Spa only. Customers should change at Swindon for onward connections towards Reading & London Paddington. - London Paddington - West of England Services will operate between London Paddington and Exeter St Davids only. Customers should change at Exeter St Davids for onward connections towards Plymouth & Penzance. - Thames Valley London Paddington Didcot Parkway Stopping services operate between Reading Didcot Parkway only. Customers should change at Reading and use TfL Rail services for intermediate stations between Reading & Ealing Broadway. Your GWR tickets will be valid on these services. - Reading Newbury Reading-Newbury services will not run, however an hourly Reading Bedwyn service will operate calling at all stations. - Reading Gatwick Airport Direct services between Reading - Gatwick Airport will not run, however Reading Redhill stopping services will continue to operate as normal. - The following Thames Valley branch lines are planned to operate as normal: Reading Basingstoke Twyford Henley-on-Thames Slough Windsor & Eton Central Maidenhead Marlow West Ealing Greenford
Southern Railway and Thameslink
Southern Railway and Thameslink
GTR, which runs Southern and Thameslink is warning that passengers should not travel.
Commuters are being warned that if they do decide to travel, then the company can't guarantee that they will be able to complete their journey and replacement transport will not be available.
There will be extensive changes to train services today. Where trains are able to run, they will be delayed or cancelled at short notice.
A speed restriction of 50 mph will also be in place across the Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern network.
Services between Brighton, Gatwick Airport, Redhill and London
A significantly reduced Thameslink service will run between Brighton/Gatwick Airport and London Blackfriars.
Services between Horsham and London
Thameslink services on this route will only run between Horsham and London Blackfriars.
Southern services on the "East Coastway" route between Brighton / Lewes and Ore
Fewer trains will run between Brighton and Lewes.
Trains which usually run between London and Ore will only run between London Bridge and Eastbourne.
Southern services on the "West Coastway" route via Worthing and Barnham
There will be fewer trains on this route, with no direct trains between Brighton and Southampton Central
No trains will run between Portsmouth & Southsea and Portsmouth Harbour for most of the day, and some other Portsmouth services will terminate at Horsham, Chichester or Havant and start back from there.
Southeastern
Southeastern
Southeastern suspended all services at 12:08pm. There is no alternative transport available.
South Western Railway
South Western Railway
South Western Railway suspended all services at 11:43am this morning and is urging passengers not to travel.
Several Southeastern passengers were stuck on a train outside of Hildenborough in Kent.
The train struck a tree just after 9am, which became lodged in the power-collection equipment.
Paul Vickers, a passenger on the stranded service, said he was onboard the train for an hour.
He added that everyone aboard was okay and the conductor has been doing an excellent job checking on everyone.
Flights
Flights have been cancelled at airports across the region.
Operator, Logan Air, has said it will not be running any flights to/from London Gatwick for the whole of Friday.
Flights to Channel Islands are running from Southampton as of 0930 Friday morning.
Gatwick Airport and Heathrow Airport are also warning of some delays and cancellations to flights.
Watch: BIG JET TV caught the moment a BA flight fought strong winds to land at Heathrow. Credit: Big Jet TV.
At least 65 flights - both departures and arrivals - were cancelled at Heathrow and a further 114 were delayed by more than 15 minutes, according to aviation data provider FlightStats by Cirium.
At Gatwick there were 15 cancellations and 67 delayed flights.
EasyJet said it has cancelled a "small number of flights" from UK airports on Friday.
Passengers on easyJet flight EJU8014 from Bordeaux to London Gatwick endured two aborted landings before their plane was put in a holding pattern over the south coast and then forced to return to the French city.
Meanwhile, British Airways said the rate of aircraft permitted to land at Heathrow Airport "is being reduced due to gale force winds".
Heathrow tweeted: "High winds and poor weather may cause last-minute delays, but we will do everything in our power to minimise any disruption that results."
The airport has also deployed extra staff to minimise disruption.
Passengers are being urged to check with their airline before they arrive at the airport.
Ferries
Ferry operators across the South Coast are warning of ongoing disruption as Storm Eunice continues to build in intensity.
In Kent, The Port of Dover has now closed due to high winds.
It's advising customers to check with ferry operators.
Disruption to ferry services
P&O Ferries
P&O Ferries
P&O Ferries are warning of major disruption as high wind speeds make conditions treacherous for sailings across the English Channel.
Earlier, the operator tweeted: "All services between Dover and Calais will be suspended until further notice from 09:00 this morning due to severe weather conditions.
"We strongly recommend that you do not travel to the ports today and rearrange your booking with us."
DFDS
DFDS
DFDS services across the English Channel will be subject to significant delays.
It has suspended all services between Dover and Calais, with no estimated time of when they will resume.
The company tweeted: "Services currently suspended until further notice due to severe weather.
"Customers will be transferred on arrival on the first available departure too and from Dunkirk which are also subject to delay and changes.
"Apologies for any inconvenience caused."
Isle of Wight services
Isle of Wight services
Wightlink:
Due to Storm Eunice, the company says it is experiencing severe weather conditions this morning Friday, 18 February.
The Lymington-Yarmouth car ferry service is currently suspended and all customers are advised to check the online service status across all three routes before travelling as disruption is likely.
It has also warned that its Contact Centers are experiencing high call volumes this morning and customers are reminded that bookings and amendments can be made online.
Red Funnel:
All services are currently suspended until further notice. On its website the company said:
"The safety of our passengers and crew is our number one priority and our teams are closely monitoring conditions. We will continue to keep the live service status page updated on our website and on our travel news page on Twitter via @RF_Travel_News. "We will also issue notifications regarding any delays and cancellations to booked customers who have opted in to receive alerts."
Hovertravel:
Services are cancelled due to adverse weather.
The company will next is an update will be at 13:15.
Due to the severity of the weather warning, the company is suggesting customers check the alternative cross Solent travel options on its disruption contingency plan webpage are operating before starting their journey
Condor Ferries
Condor Ferries
Condor Ferries has cancelled all sailings this morning.
Passenger and freight services from Portsmouth to the Channel Islands on Saturday morning will also be cancelled.
On Saturday Passenger conventional Services from Jersey to Portsmouth will be delayed and Guernsey to Portsmouth will be cancelled.
All other Conventional and High Speed services up to and including Monday 21st February are under weather review.
Roads
There is disruption across the regions roads as wind speeds increase.
Stagecoach has suspended all bus services across Kent and East Sussex until at least 1400 due to the weather. It follows an earlier decision to suspend all bus services in Hampshire and West Sussex.
National Highways is urging motorists to drive to the conditions if they have to drive. The organisation is currently displaying an 'essential travel only' message on gantries across the South East, something only used in extreme circumstances.
It is urging high-sided and vulnerable vehicles to not travel on the following sections of roads:
M27 J8-J9 Hedge End to Locks HeathA27 Shoreham Flyover - near to Hove / BrightonA2 Jubilee Way close to DoverM2 J2-J3 Medway ViaductA249 Kings Ferry / Sheppey CrossingA282 QE2 Bridge / Dartford Bridge
Elsewhere Sussex Police said it was dealing with obstructions as wind speeds increase.
Many major routes have already been closed including the the QEII bridge in Kent which closed at 5am on Friday morning.
The M2 in Kent has been closed at Medway Bridge due to high wind speeds. The decision was taken shortly before Midday. Drivers are urged not to travel unless essential. Elsewhere, in Hampshire, the Itchen Bridge in Southampton also closed from 5am on Friday.
Southampton City Council confirmed a number of bus routes, including City Reds 2 & 3 are experiencing delays of up to 15 minutes.
Buses due to travel over the Itchen Bridge will be diverted via Northam Bridge.
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