Passengers stuck on trains as flooding forces West Coast Mainline closure

Some tracks were submerged under a foot of water.

Travellers found themselves stranded on trains after flooded tracks forced West Coast Mainline to stop running between England and Scotland.

It comes as rail networks across the UK have been battling strong winds and heavy rain.

Some tracks have been submerged under a foot of water and others have been obstructed by trees toppled by high speed winds.

Network Rail Scotland tweeted images of water covering railway tracks and said five trains had been trapped between Lockerbie and Carlisle.

Flooding between Penrith North and Lockerbie means all lines are blocked.

Passengers travelling between Carlisle and Glasgow Central or Edinburgh are advised not to travel, with major disruption expected until at least the end of the day.

This is what has been holding up the West Coast mainline. Flooding on the tracks just outside Lockerbie pic.twitter.com/2r4yrXb3ms

— Andrew McFadyen (@apmcfadyen) August 10, 2019

At around 2.30pm, Network Rail Scotland said the line could be opened for northbound traffic, but trains would have to stick to a 5mph limit for safety reasons.

It has been a day of bedlam across the country’s rail networks, with many routes hit by severe delays due to debris on the tracks.

London services have been suspended between West Ham and Limehouse after a tree damaged overhead wires.

A train from Marks Tey, Essex, to Sudbury, Suffolk, was hit by two trees, meaning the entire branch line will be suspended for the rest of the weekend.

Trees on the lines have caused delays between Ashford International and Hastings, Guildford and Reading, Newbury and Westbury and between Ipswich and Lowestoft.

National Rail said all trees have since been cleared but warned passengers to check updates before travelling as they could still face disruption.

Speed restrictions have been imposed, particularly in coastal areas where wind speeds are forecast to hit 60mph.

Mumbles Head, on the south coast of Wales has felt the strongest winds so far, clocking up 61mph this morning.

Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: ‘For the rest of the day it will stay quite windy across England and Wales, there is a yellow weather warning in place until midnight tonight.

‘We’re likely to continue to see gusts of 40mph to 50mph, perhaps closer to 60mph nearer to the coast.’

He said heavy rain and thunderstorms across northern England and Scotland would continue for the rest of the day, with further heavy rain forecast until about mid morning on Sunday.

The yellow weather warning across almost all of Scotland and northern England will come to an end at midnight.

But a yellow rain warning will be in force until 10am on Sunday in the Glasgow area.

Weather is expected to settle down across the rest of the country on Sunday, with showers and some patches of sunshine coming through.