Rail firms are warning passengers to avoid travel on Friday, when the worst storm in three decades is forecast to hit the UK.
Journeys across Britain will be affected by speed restrictions and delays on Friday, the rail industry said, as Storm Eunice is expected to cause major disruption.
Winds of up to 90mph (145km/h) are forecast for parts of the UK, according to red and amber weather warnings issued by the Met Office.
Long-distance train operators cancelled many services in advance and said passengers should use tickets booked for Friday to travel on Thursday or Saturday instead.
Network Rail will be imposing speed restrictions of 50mph across most of the railway to minimise the risk from fallen trees or debris blown on to the tracks.
Engineers will be out in force for the second time in three days to combat damage from the extreme weather.
Train services in Scotland, which bore the worst impact of Storm Dudley on Wednesday, had largely resumed by 10am on Thursday after a cleanup operation to repair overhead lines and remove fallen trees.
Network Rail said additional engineers would be deployed to tackle problems as they arose, and to check all affected lines for damage before reintroducing services as quickly as possible.
All trains in Wales will be cancelled on Friday, with no replacement road transport, after Transport for Wales told passengers to avoid travel because Eunice was expected to be “the largest and most impactful storm affecting Wales for many years”. It said it expected disruption to last into Saturday.
Great Western Railway, which operates the south Wales mainline and services across the south-west regions, is also expected to be widely affected by Eunice. The firm said customers could use tickets up to and including Monday, adding that it expected to significantly reduce all its long-distance services, and to close branch lines in Devon and Cornwall.
LNER, which runs trains on the east coast mainline between London and Scotland, said customers should expect disruption and could claim a refund if they preferred not to risk travelling.
Avanti, which runs trains from London to Glasgow, said it would operate a significantly reduced timetable, with only one train every two hours between Euston station and Birmingham.
CrossCountry has advised people not to travel on Friday or Saturday, with a strike affecting services at the weekend.
Others, including Northern, London Northwestern and Southeastern, have urged people not to travel on Friday.
Jacqueline Starr, the chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, an industry body, said: “Rail companies are working hard to keep people moving safely but journeys will be disrupted, especially on Friday. We’re asking people to plan their travel for a different day if possible or to check and re-check before they travel.”
Jake Kelly, a director at Network Rail, said: “We will be doing everything we can to keep as many services as possible running safely and reliably on Friday, but with such strong winds expected we know that disruption to passengers’ journeys is inevitable.”
Transport for Greater Manchester urged people to only make strictly necessary journeys on Friday, saying that flying debris could block Metrolink tram services.
On the roads, National Highways has advised motorists to take care and be prepared for gales, with drivers of HGVs, caravans and motorcycles in particular advised to check conditions in exposed locations. Several major road bridges, including the Severn bridges into Wales and the Dartford bridge crossing, will be closed on Friday.
The Tamar bridge linking Devon and Cornwall will be closed, and police in the two regions have urged motorists to stay home “unless your journey is absolutely necessary”.
Britain’s biggest airlines, easyJet and British Airways, said they were monitoring the situation as the storm approached, but neither had cancelled services as yet. Eunice will be widespread, and comes at the end of a half-term break for many, when higher numbers than usual of families and skiers will be returning from holidaying abroad.
Heathrow airport said it was working closely with airlines and air traffic control to avoid any disruption, but poor weather could cause last-minute delays. A spokesperson said: “We encourage passengers to check their flight status with their airline for the latest information.”
