Storm Eunice has left devastation in its wake, with roofs blown off, trees felled, and power outages across much of the south of England. The aftermath of Eunice has also left the railway network in chaos.
Photos and tweets from members of the public show just how busy the rail network in the South West was today, amid warnings not to travel due to continued high winds and disruption. Reasons for travelling vary, but today was described by passengers as "extremely busy", with some services described as "overbooked" and some customers demanding refunds.
A spokesperson for Network Rail said that Storm Eunice has left their teams with a "huge clean-up operation", adding that staff are working "around the clock" to clear debris, trees, and flooding from the rail network.
READ MORE: Storm Eunice: Fallen tree in Bristol 'inches' from crushing a car
Members of the public have been expressing their frustrations at travelling to and from Bristol today in the wake of Storm Eunice. Much of the rail network was unable to operate yesterday as the storm wreaked havoc across the UK.
The photo above shows platforms 13 and 15 at Bristol Temple Meads station today (Saturday, February 19) with crowds of people waiting for trains. The passenger, Harry Morris, said that his service was delayed by almost half an hour.
Harry was waiting for the 1pm train to London Paddington and told Bristol Live that the roughly 200 people crowded on the platform were all waiting for the same train. He added: "The train was packed full, certainly not enough seats to sit everybody although I was lucky enough to be one of the first on. The number of people on the train was quite concerning although I kept in mind that it was due to the storm."
Another passenger, Roxie, wrote on Twitter that she had pre-booked the 10.57am train from Swindon to Temple Meads station, but it was not a smooth journey: "[The service was] delayed by 21 mins then couldn't get on the clearly overbooked service! What's the point of a pre-booked ticket if you can't get on the train! #frustrated We now have another 30 mins to wait! #ridiculous".
A traveller, going by Loz on Twitter, tweeted Great Western Railway directly: "I was on a train from London to Bristol today and the experience was awful. The train was extremely busy and there was no space to sit and I had to stand for the whole journey. I paid a lot of money and want my money back. Is this possible?"
Great Western Railway replied to this passenger saying that they should email proof of their tickets and details of their claim to be considered.
Dr Amit Patel also shared his experience travelling through Bristol Temple Meads today. Dr Patel is blind and was travelling with his guide dog, Kika. He wrote on Twitter: "We left our hotel not knowing whether we’d be able to get into Bristol station, or even on a train back to London. To my relief, Kika worked through the crowd brilliantly & Great Western Railway staff were amazing getting us on a train. Kika’s even found a comfy foot & a bag to rest on."
Network Rail and the train operators had advised passengers not to travel by train today due to trains and staff being out of place after the major disruption yesterday and the clean-up operation that needed to take place.
Due to the required clean-up and the yellow weather warnings in place, the disruption on the rail network will continue tomorrow (Sunday), with all trains lines in the south west limited to 50mph.
A spokesperson for Great Western Railway said: "Work has continued throughout Saturday to clear debris from the tracks and move trains to where they need to be. This meant we had to advise people not to travel. We are grateful for the patience of our customers."
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “Storm Eunice has left us with a huge clean-up operation across much of the railway, with many trees down on the tracks and flooding in some areas. There is currently a reduced timetable in place, with some lines closed, as our teams work around the clock to clear debris, trees and flooding.
“We’re asking people to only travel if necessary and to please check with their train operators before making any journeys.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused to our passengers needing to travel.”
READ MORE: Lewins Mead reopens in Bristol after Storm Eunice damage sparked closure
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