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Thursday 22 Oct 2026

Passengers urged to check before travelling as rail services altered ahead of Storm Austen

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

Rail passengers across Wales are being urged to check before travelling from Friday 23 October and throughout the weekend, with precautionary changes being made to some train services ahead of severe weather.

Storm Austen is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rain from the night of Thursday 22 October into Friday, followed by another bout of wet and windy weather on Saturday.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for wind affecting parts of Wales on Friday, with transport disruption likely and gusts of 50–60mph possible more widely across the warning area.  Stronger winds of up to 70mph are possible in some exposed coastal locations.

As a precaution, the rail industry has agreed a number of temporary service alterations in West Wales, on the Heart of Wales line, Cambrian line and along the North Wales Coast.

Passengers travelling on these routes are strongly advised to check the latest journey information before travelling. Rail replacement buses will be in place on affected routes, and passengers are advised that weather conditions may result in longer journey times.

Strong winds can bring trees, branches and other debris onto the railway, while heavy rain can overwhelm drainage systems, cause flooding and affect earthworks. Wet leaves and other autumn conditions can also make the rails slippery, meaning trains need more time and distance to accelerate and brake safely.

Network Rail, Transport for Wales and Great Western Railway will be working closely throughout the weekend, with specialist weather forecasts being monitored and operational plans continually reviewed as conditions develop.

Across the Wales and Borders route, significant steps have been taken to build resilience against autumn and winter storms, to help keep the railway operating safely including:

• Ten new weather stations installed directly on the railway network, providing real-time information on wind, rainfall and other local conditions.
• Ten dedicated seasonal response teams positioned to react quickly to weather-related incidents.
• Targeted, temporary timetable changes have been introduced on selected routes as an early measure to help reduce the impact of autumn weather and improve service reliability.
• Targeted drainage improvements at locations known to be vulnerable to flooding.
• Vegetation management to reduce the risk of trees and branches falling onto the railway during strong winds.
• Enhanced monitoring and inspections of vulnerable locations before, during and after severe weather.

Chris Howchin, Senior Network Delivery Manager at Network Rail Wales and Borders route, said: “Severe weather can have a significant impact on the transport network, which is why a huge amount of preparation takes place on the railway before a storm arrives.

“Our teams are monitoring the forecast closely, with people and equipment ready across the route to respond quickly if needed. Our new weather stations are also giving us more detailed local information to help us make the right decisions.

“Safety will always come first and, while we’ll do everything we can to keep passengers moving, strong winds can bring trees and debris onto the railway, while heavy rain can cause flooding. That can mean speed restrictions or temporary closures while we make sure the railway is safe.

“We’d encourage passengers to check their journey before travelling and keep checking for updates throughout the weekend.”

James Gough, Customer Operations Director at Transport for Wales said: “Passengers planning to travel on Friday and throughout the weekend are urged to check their journey before travelling, as a combination of forecast severe weather and planned engineering work will affect services across parts of the Wales and Borders network.

“Amended timetables will be in place on a number of routes to help reduce the impact of severe weather and improve the resilience of the network.

“Our teams will be working closely with our colleagues at Network Rail to monitor the conditions throughout the weekend. We encourage all customers to check the TfW website for the latest travel information before setting off and allow extra time for journeys where possible.”

GWR and Network Rail Western Performance Director, Daryn McCombe, said: “We’re grateful for customers’ patience as teams across the rail industry prepare for the impact of Storm Austen. We’re working closely with Network Rail and Transport for Wales to keep services running safely, with teams ready to respond to issues such as fallen trees and debris on the railway.

“While we’ll do everything we can to keep passengers moving, severe weather can cause disruption. We’d encourage anyone planning to travel over the coming days to check the latest travel advice before setting off and keep up to date with any changes to their journey.”

Passengers should continue to check National Rail, Transport for Wales and GWR journey information before travelling.