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Passengers faced widespread travel disruption across the UK on Monday after a fierce storm brought heavy rain and winds of over 90mph to some parts of the country.
Train services were hit, with the network in Scotland shut down for more than 12 hours from Sunday evening. Airlines were working to restore their schedules after some flights were forced to divert to other airports during the peak of the storm on Sunday night due to high winds.
Storm Isha left thousands of homes without power, with Northern Ireland hardest hit, as heavy winds brought down power lines. The Met Office said the highest wind speed recorded was a gust of 99mph in Northumberland, north-east England. The Environment Agency has also issued 19 flood warnings in England.
The most significant travel disruption came in Scotland, where Network Rail halted all train services from 7pm on Sunday until at least midday on Monday. The operator of the rail network said it was inspecting all lines for damage, flooding or debris from the storm after a “wild night”.
Network Rail imposed 50mph speed restrictions across large parts of the network in England on Sunday, which were being lifted by Monday morning. Nevertheless train operators including LNER and Avanti on the East and West Coast lines, respectively, warned of disruption and urged passengers to check before travel.
Railway infrastructure is vulnerable to flooding and in extreme cases landslides following heavy rain, while high winds can damage overhead power lines and blow debris and fallen trees on to the tracks.
Steve White, managing director of Southeastern Railway, said a clean-up operation was under way with staff clearing trees, a trampoline and a greenhouse from the tracks after winds of 70mph hit south-east England. “Work continues to fully inspect and reopen the railway,” he said on social media platform X.
Airlines were also coping with a wave of disruption after hundreds of flights were cancelled across Sunday and into Monday morning. Many planes and passengers ended up in the wrong place overnight after several flights were diverted after being unable to land in the high winds.
On Sunday night a Ryanair flight between Copenhagen and Dublin diverted to Manchester, and after spending four hours on the ground there failed in its second attempt to reach Ireland, ending up in Liverpool after a more than seven-hour journey, according to Flightradar24, a flight tracking company.
Elsewhere a Ryanair flight from Shannon to Edinburgh ended up in Cologne, while a Tui flight from Sharm El Sheikh to Glasgow landed in Manchester.
There was also some disruption on roads and ferry ports, with a Met Office yellow weather warning for wind issued for the whole of the UK until midday on Monday.
