Thursday 13 Nov 2025
Passengers warned to check before travelling as wind and rain warnings issued ahead of Storm Claudia
- Region & Route:
- North West & Central
Passengers are being advised to check before travelling on the railway tomorrow (Friday) and on Saturday.
Network Rail teams are preparing for extremely heavy rain, which could cause disruption to rail services.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain across much of the North West, Midlands and the south of England, along with a more severe amber warning in the Midlands and a yellow wind warning in the North West.
Forecasters have warned that some areas could see a month’s worth of rain in just 24 hours.
Engineers are working to prepare as fully as possible for the weather conditions, checking known problem sites, clearing culverts and preparing pumps.
However, in some areas flooding and speed restrictions could cause heavy disruption to timetables.
Phil James, route director for Network Rail, said:
“Passengers should be aware that tomorrow’s weather is likely to cause disruption on the railways. We are doing everything we can to prepare for the impacts and we continue to work closely with our train operator partners.
"Please plan ahead before you travel and check in with train operators before starting your journey.”
For up-to-date travel information and detail on alternative travel please check www.nationalrail.co.uk.
Notes to Editors
- There will be heavily disrupted timetables due to speed restrictions and cancellations. Blanket 50mph speed restrictions will be in place on all routes from Crewe to Preston.
- The Cumbrian Coast Line will remain closed until at least Saturday.
- West Midlands Railway passengers are advised that on Friday 14 November, services will be reduced on the Cross City line and no services operating between Four Oaks and Redditch. There will also be no services between Hereford and Worcester.
- Passengers are advised that there will be no Chiltern Railways services north of Birmingham Moor Street or on the line to Stratford-upon-Avon and a reduction in services on the rest of the route, including between London and Birmingham.
- For more information how we manage flooding on the railway, please check Flooding - Network Rail.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
0330 854 0100
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk