Travel chaos as heavy rain brings abrupt end to heatwave and causes a train to derail near Watford Junction. Oh, and there’s a Circle Line strike
A London Midland train derailed near Watford Junction today as the UK's train lines were plunged into chaos after the recent heatwave came to an abrupt end with floods, thunderstorms and hail.
Virgin Trains said the service had hit a landslide, causing it to strike another train and derail – but no injuries were reported. However, it did cause major disruption to services in and out of Euston Station.
Read more: Corbyn’s traingate tiff with Virgin Trains put transport issues on the map
And South West Trains said flood damage meant services running from Woking station in Surrey would be disrupted all day. Elsewhere, flooding on the tracks caused disruptions at Didcot Parkway, Newbury and Chieveley.
Commuters took to social media to voice their frustration with a number of services which were cancelled or delayed as a result of the storms.
Just taken my daughter to the train station, no trains running to much rain.!!!!😡
— Nigel Witherden (@NWitherden) September 16, 2016
Rain means train delays @SW_Trains delays at Woking due to flooding, be late for my @MoversShakersUK breakfast this morning 😩 #trainfail
— Andrew Screen (@andrewscreen) September 16, 2016
@LondonMidland can you give us an update on the 06.55 MKC to Euston train. It seems to be sitting in Bletchley in the rain…
— Laura Johnson KC (@LauBore) September 16, 2016
The fact I had to wake up at 3am and check if there were train delays, because I knew a bit of rain would cause this ✋🏼😩
— Nicola (@nikkiraynal) September 16, 2016
#WeatherSWT – Lightneing & flooding have impacted areas of our network last night, please check before travelling https://t.co/DNfzz85pGY
— SWR Help (@SW_Help) September 16, 2016
Train as being derailed and hit an other train Watford tunnel expect massive delays
— darren murinas (@darrenmurinas) September 16, 2016
Flood warnings
It comes after half a month's rain fell in just a few hours prompting the Environment Agency issued a series of flood warnings last night (quite a different story from earlier this week).
Jonathan Day, flood risk manager at the Environment Agency, said: "Scattered showers across parts of England may intensify and become more widespread, bringing a risk of flooding particularly in urban areas."
"This could lead to localised impacts, including transport disruption, flooding of roads, and potentially property flooding. In the early hours of Friday morning showers will become widespread and torrential.
"This may lead to flooding, particularly across large parts of the south, including London, which could cause significant disruption during the morning rush hour."
Circle Line strike
Even without the rain, the capital was always going to be beset by delays, after workers on the Circle and Hammersmith & City Lines began a 24-hour strike last night.
Transport for London (TfL) said it was running a "very limited service", and advised passengers to take alternative Tube or bus routes if possible.
Want to feel a little better about your commute? Here's the situation on the picket line today:
