Storm Brian: High winds and stormy seas lead to travel problems on trains, boats and planes
As winds of up to 70mph and stormy seas batter the southern half of Britain, Storm Brian is causing widespread travel disruption.
Several Brittany Ferries services from Portsmouth and Plymouth today have been cancelled ahead of the intense low-pressure system. Because these western Channel links are long sailings, there will be a knock-on effect for the rest of the weekend.
P&O Ferries is warning that Dover-Calais services on Saturday are being delayed by up to an hour because of bad weather.
Irish Ferries sailings between Holyhead and Dublin, and between Fishguard and Rosslare, have been cancelled for the rest of the day.
Train operators and Network Rail are putting in speed restrictions on many lines, particularly near to coasts.
The biggest problems are in Wales, where speed restrictions have been imposed on many lines. Some services have been curtailed to avoid delays building: the mid-Wales service is starting and ending at Wolverhampton rather than Birmingham, while the West Wales to Manchester line is only going as far as Crewe.
Great Western Railway is warning "trains are expected to be delayed by up to 40 minutes and some service alterations may need to take place.line between South Wales and London". Between 10am and 6pm, speed restrictions will be in force along the length of the South Wales main line. Disruption on services to and from London was expected anyway because the closure of the Severn Tunnel for engineering work.
Southeastern Trains in the eastern half of Kent are affected, as are South Western Railway services in Hampshire and Dorset — where empty trains have already been running to checking for line obstructions.
As the day proceeds there could be further problems with fallen trees and other debris blocking lines and damaging overhead wires.
British Airways has cancelled 20 flights to and from Heathrow because of the need to slow the arrivals rate at the UK’s busiest airport. They are all short-haul departures, including round trips to Aberdeen, Dublin, Geneva, Madrid, Milan and Nice. Affected passengers have been notified and rebooked on alternative flights.
