South Western Railway passengers told 'do not travel'
Storm Franklin brings more problems for Salisbury's main train operator
South Western Railway is urging customers not to travel today (21st February) as Storm Franklin brings further problems to the network.
The company says its working hard to run as many services as it can safely but strong winds and a 50mph speed restriction will cause 'delays and cancellations throughout the day'
It's also warning of further line blockages due to fallen trees, with weather conditions likely to hamper efforts to help stranded customers.
SWR can't guarantee replacement travel services will be provided either.
Christian Neill, Customer Experience Director for South Western Railway has apologised for the 'continuing disruption" caused by the storms
"It has been an incredibly challenging few days and our teams have been working tirelessly to clear the tracks to safely run as many trains as possible. With more severe weather expected on Monday, we are asking customers not to attempt to travel as we cannot guarantee to get them to their destination”
Mark Killick, Route Director for Network Rail said:
“Storm Franklin is set to cause further disruption on our route so we’re asking our customers not to travel on Monday. With strong winds approaching from a different direction, it’s likely that trees weakened by Storm Eunice will be forced down and could block lines. The safety of our customers and our staff, who have worked around the clock since Friday to remove debris and repair damaged infrastructure, is our number one priority. I’d like to thank our customers for their patience over the last three days.”
Tickets booked for travel on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday will be accepted on Tuesday.
Since Friday’s winds of over 90mph, Network Rail have cleared more than 50 fallen trees from the South Western Railway region. Sunday evening’s heavy wind and rain caused even more trees to block the lines and further damage to stations and infrastructure.
With the wind direction expected to change it is very likely that more trees will come down during storm Franklin, having been weakened over the last two days.
Great Western Railway have also told passengers to only travel if absolutley necessary.