Railway lines to shut ahead of Storm Goretti snow

1 day ago

Isaac AsheEast Midlands

News image — Network Rail said branch lines would need to close for the safety of passengers and workers (stock image)

Network Rail A train with a snow plough attached trundling through a snow-bound landscape — Network Rail said branch lines would need to close for the safety of passengers and workers (stock image)

Rail passengers have been urged to avoid travelling "unless absolutely necessary" as a number of lines are set to close ahead of Storm Goretti.

With heavy snow and strong winds forecast from Thursday overnight into Friday, branch lines across the East Midlands are being closed down from 18:00 GMT.

A decision to shut the Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Sheffield was taken on Wednesday, but now further East Midlands Railway (EMR) and CrossCountry services have been cancelled.

Dan Matthews, operations director at Network Rail, apologised for the impact on travellers but said "the safety and wellbeing of passengers and our own teams must come first".

He added: "In more remote parts of our network, we're anticipating the storm impact on roads will mean that our own staff will struggle to reach signal boxes and, potentially, to respond to incidents on the railway as they normally would.

"As a result, we and our colleagues in EMR have taken the difficult decision to remove late evening and early morning services."

'Avoid travelling'

The closure of the Hope Valley Line, affecting Liverpool Lime Street to Norwich services, will be in effect from 18:00 until Saturday morning.

CrossCountry services from Leicester and Peterborough will be suspended from 19:00 on Thursday, while there will be reduced services between Nottingham and Birmingham New Street/Cardiff Central.

The railway between Nottingham and Sheffield, the Crewe/Derby/Nottingham/Lincoln line between Derby and Crewe, the Matlock/Derby/Nottingham/Lincoln/Cleethorpes line between Derby and Matlock, and the Nottingham/Mansfield/Worksop railway will all be closed from 20:00 on Thursday.

It is hoped EMR services on these lines will resume at 10:00 on Friday after Network Rail confirms it is safe to do so.

A spokesperson said: "We strongly advise you to avoid travelling unless absolutely necessary."

CrossCountry services between Nottingham and Birmingham New Street/Cardiff Central, and Leicester and Birmingham New Street will be reduced on Friday.

Network Rail added a full timetable was still scheduled on the Midland Main Line from London St Pancras to Nottingham and Sheffield, as this had central signalling and was "generally more accessible from main roads" for its response teams.