AS STORM FRANKLIN makes its presence felt across Wokingham and Reading this evening, a train operator has changed its message and is now urging people not to travel on Monday, February 21.
Earlier today, they said that it would be running as many services as it can, but with a 50mph speed restriction in place.
Now, as the strong winds blow, South Western Railway is asking people not to travel if they can do so.
The speed restrictions are expected to cause delays and cancellations throughout the day, and further line blockages due to fallen trees are expected.
Weather conditions are also likely to hamper efforts to help any stranded customers.
And South Western Railway says it is also unable to guarantee replacement travel services.
Christian Neill, Customer Experience Director for South Western Railway said: “We understand Monday marks the first day back from half term for many and we are sorry for the continuing disruption these storms are causing.
“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.”
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.
Mark Killick, Route Director for Network Rail, echoed this view.
“Storm Franklin is set to cause further disruption on our route so we’re asking our customers not to travel on Monday,” he said.
“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.
