East Midlands Railways has issued a “Do Not Travel” warning to travellers on Friday because of the potential dangers from Storm Eunice.
There are fears that Hurricane force winds could cause danger to life as the Met Office issued the highest level of alert in some parts of the country.
The South West and West Wales is expected to take the full force of the front as it sweeps in, with potential for winds of 90-100mph in places.
The Met Office said there is a risk of “flying debris resulting in danger to life” and “damage to buildings and homes, with roofs blown off and power lines brought down”.
The rest of the South, the Midlands and North are expected to be hit by winds of 60-70mph throughout the day. Heavy snow is predicted further north.
With the storm looming, London North East Railway has urged customers with Friday tickets to travel on Thursday or Saturday instead or receive a refund due to expected disruption and damage.
East Midlands Railway, Southeastern and Avanti West Coast have also urged people not to travel, with trains being cancelled, delayed and disrupted.
A Network Rail spokesman said disruption is “inevitable” and Welsh services will be suspended for the whole day.
East Midlands Railway, which runs services from London, through Leicester, Nottingham and Derby and Sheffield, said as well as damage to buildings with roofs blown off and power lines brought down, there was a danger of roads and bridges being forced to close and branches and uprooted trees on the lines.
It said: “These conditions will cause significant disruption across the railway network and trains will be required to travel much slower.
“There will also be significantly fewer trains on some routes and journey times will be significantly increased - with some journeys taking up to twice as long to complete.
“Customers for whom it is vital that they travel tomorrow should check EMR’s website before setting off.“
The railway company said it would do everything it could to offer alternative routes but there was a strong chance the conditions would restrict its ability to respond to incidents with replacement buses and other road transport.
Matt Stacey, head of stations at East Midlands Railway, said: “As the storm strength and potential impact becomes clearer, we are now strongly advising customers to not travel at all.
"We also urge customers to try and complete their journeys today - if possible.
"The strength of Storm Eunice will mean that on Friday there is likely to be widespread disruption to services across the country’s rail network.
"If customers absolutely need to travel we suggest they check our website for the latest information before setting off. They should also leave themselves plenty of extra time to reach their destination."
More information about how services are affected by Storm Eunice can be found on EMR’s website or by following the company's Twitter account.
