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Britons across the UK will be facing severe disruption as the country prepares to be battered by 100mph winds brought by Storm Eowyn.
Thousands of train journeys have been cancelled, with ScotRail suspending all of its services on Friday.
The company, which normally operates more than 2,000 rail services a day, said it “would not be safe to operate passenger services due to forecast weather conditions”.
A number of train companies including Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, and Grand Central have also told customers not to travel on routes across parts of north Wales and Scotland.
On the roads, motorists in areas covered by a red weather warning have been advised not to drive their car “unless absolutely essential”.
It comes as schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland were also advised to close on Friday for the safety of children and staff.
The Met Office issued a rare red warning across Northern Ireland and Scotland which will see winds rapidly during the Friday morning rush hour with peak gusts of 80-90 mph fairly widely and perhaps up to 100 mph along some exposed coasts.
Travel services suspended in Northern Ireland
Bus and train services have been suspended in Northern Ireland during the red weather warning in place on Friday morning for Storm Eowyn.
Translink’s director of service operations, Ian Campbell, said: “We have worked closely with the multiple emergency planning agencies, and this decision to cancel services is necessary to ensure the safety of all our customers and employees.
“Amber alerts for strong winds are also in effect for most of tomorrow which will likely impact services even after the red alert ends.
“We will be working collaboratively with all agencies to assess any damage to both road and rail routes and only resume services when it is safe to do so.
“There is likely to be fallen trees and extensive debris that will need to be cleared, and bus and train services may need to operate with speed restrictions or operate diversions for bus services if roads are impassable.”
Athena Stavrou23 January 2025 16:24
Train operators issue “Do Not Travel” warnings for Friday
Northern Trains has issued a Do Not Travel warning covering all services in Cumbria, Blackpool North to York, Wigan to Leeds, Manchester Victoria to Leeds via Hebden Bridge, Huddersfield to Sheffield, Leeds-Nottingham and the new Northumberland line from Newcastle to Ashington.
TransPennine Express has already urged passengers not to attempt to travel from northern England to Scotland on Friday.
It is now telling passengers: “We are advising customers to avoid travelling, unless absolutely essential, between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York. Services which we are able to operate across the rest of the TransPennine Express network will run to an amended timetable and may be subject to significant disruption with short notice delays, alterations and cancellations all possible.”
Simon Calder23 January 2025 15:42
Dramatic footage shows high wind pulling shed off ground
Dramatic footage has been circulated online of extremely strong winds in Cornwall.
Several videos and pictures shared on social media shows objects being swept away in winds and even an entire shed being lifted from the ground.
Earlier, European Storm Forecast Experiment published a map putting southern England under a level 2 tornado warning for severe wind gusts with a few tornado events possible.
They said: “a strong event cannot be ruled out”.
Athena Stavrou23 January 2025 15:40
More schools and nurseries to close
All schools and nurseries across Edinburgh, Clackmannanshire, Fife and Falkirk councils will be closed on Friday because of Storm Eowyn.
The four councils are the latest to confirm closures in Scotland, taking the total to 16.
Glasgow, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, North and South Lanarkshire, North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, Midlothian, East and West Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde and Argyll and Bute councils previously said all schools and nurseries will be closed on Friday.
Athena Stavrou23 January 2025 15:30
Thousands of train journeys suspended
Britons are facing a day full of disrpution on Friday, as rare red weather warnings come into place triggered by 100mph winds brought by Storm Eowyn.
Thousands of train journeys have been cancelled, with ScotRail suspending all of its services on Friday.
The company, who operate more than 2,000 rail services a day, said it “would not be safe to operate passenger services due to forecast weather conditions”.
A number of train companies including Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, and Grand Central have told customers not to travel on routes across parts of North Wales and Scotland as “very strong winds, rain and snow” are expected to disrupt train services from Friday.
National Rail said in a statement published on Thursday: “Strong winds can blow trees into infrastructure, damaging the overhead lines that power electric trains.
“The winds can mean it’s unsafe to carry out repairs at height – or with certain machinery until the winds have dropped.
“Trains may have to run at a reduced speed causing delays to your journey.”
Athena Stavrou23 January 2025 15:14
Widespread cancellations on Irish Sea by Stena Line
Stena Line has cancelled almost all of its sailings between Wales and Ireland on Friday. The Fishguard-Rosslare link will not operate at all. In addition, tonight’s 10.30pm sailing from Holyhead to Dublin is cancelled – as are most on the route on Friday. But the 4.30pm and 10.30pm ferries from the Irish capital are currently showing as on time.
From Cairnryan in southwest Scotland to Belfast, Stena Line has cancelled the 11.30pm departure on Thursday. The corresponding ferry from Belfast will sail early to try to avoid the worst of the weather. Friday’s first four sailings each way on the route are cancelled, with the 7.30pm departure in each direction “in doubt”.
Stena Line says: “You can amend your booking online to an alternative sailing or route without any charge fee or fare difference applied.”
Alice Reynolds23 January 2025 14:56
All ScotRail services suspended on Friday
ScotRail said that all its services will be suspended on Friday January 24.
In a statement posted on X, it said: “With the safety of customers and staff of paramount importance, we will not be safe to operate passenger services due to the forecast weather conditions across Scotland during #StormEowyn.
“All ScotRail services are suspended on Friday, January 24.
“We strongly advise you not to travel, as there will be no train services, and no alternative transport will be available.”
It said that high winds “could lead to trees and other debris falling onto the tracks, trapping trains and putting people in danger. It can also impact service recovery times due to poor road and driving conditions”.
“Once the warnings pass, the network will have to undergo safety inspections before services can be reintroduced.”
The company advised people to check the ScotRail website or app before travelling on Saturday morning.
Athena Stavrou23 January 2025 14:41
Rail: East Coast main line in disarray all weekend
Passengers on the UK’s flagship railway, the East Coast main line, face disruption all weekend.
The line connects London King’s Cross with Yorkshire, northeast England and Scotland. On Friday passengers are advised not to travel north of York, and the stretch from Newcastle to February is completely closed.
Passengers booked on LNER for Friday can use their tickets for Friday on Thursday or up to Monday 27 January – but at the weekend London-Peterborough is closed for engineering work.
The rail firm says: “LNER services will start and terminate at Peterborough, where rail replacement coaches will operate to Bedford for train services to London St Pancras.”
Hull Trains is running services via Sheffield to St Pancras, with journey times increased by about an hour.
Barney Davis23 January 2025 14:30
More Scottish schools to be closed tomorrow
Scotland’s Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop there will be widespread disruption to the transport network as more counties announce their schools will close.
She said: “I would urge people to follow police advice and avoid travel in the area affected by the red warning for wind. If you do need to travel, your journey is likely to be badly disrupted and there will likely be cancellations to rail, ferry and air services.
“Traffic Scotland will provide the most up-to-date information on the trunk roads throughout the warning periods, via their website, social media channels and radio broadcasts.
“The conditions will inevitably cause major disruption to rail, ferry and aviation services too, so please contact your operator to see if your journey has been affected.”
North and South Lanarkshire, North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, Midlothian, East and West Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde and Argyll and Bute councils have all confirmed their schools would be closed with the red weather warning for wind in force.
They join Glasgow, East Ayrshire and West Lothian, which made the same announcements on social media earlier on Thursday, bringing the total number of authorities with all schools closed to 12 in Scotland.
Barney Davis23 January 2025 14:06
National Rail issue warning
A number of train companies including Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, and Grand Central have told customers not to travel on routes across parts of North Wales and Scotland as “very strong winds, rain and snow” are expected to disrupt train services from Friday.
National Rail said in a statement published on Thursday: “A yellow weather warning has been issued by the Met Office for today, affecting southern parts of England and the coast of Wales.
“In addition to this, red, amber and yellow weather warnings have been issued due to Storm Éowyn and is expected to bring very strong winds, rain and snow to most parts of Great Britain on Friday 24 January, and across parts of northern England and Scotland on Saturday 25 January.
“Strong winds can blow trees into infrastructure, damaging the overhead lines that power electric trains.
“The winds can mean it’s unsafe to carry out repairs at height – or with certain machinery until the winds have dropped.
“Trains may have to run at a reduced speed causing delays to your journey.”
Barney Davis23 January 2025 14:03
