Storm Gerrit – live: Weather warnings in place as trains cancelled and major incident declared in Scotland
Rail passengers have been warned not to attempt journeys north of Preston after hundreds of trains were cancelled due to Storm Gerrit.
Most services in Scotland have been axed after high winds and heavy rain caused travel chaos across the network, leaving thousands of people stranded after the Christmas holidays.
ScotRail said it had suspended all services north of Dundee and north of Perth and ferry services have also been affected.
It comes after the Met Office issued nine weather alerts across the UK, warning of widespread disruption which came to pass on Wednesday as powerful winds and flooding wrought havoc on public transport.
Flooding on the West Coast main line brought trains to a standstill, hitting routes between Edinburgh and Manchester airport, and Glasgow and Birmingham. Elsewhere, East Midlands Railway trains have been cancelled for the rest of the day, while a signalling fault shut down travel between Luton and London.
At Dover, long queues have built up for the EU frontier operated by French border police, with port authorities warning of two-hour delays. In Scotland, many Caledonian MacBrayne ferries are disrupted, with widespread delays and cancellations.
The Met Office has warned of wind gusts of up to 75mph in some parts of the UK, with other areas expected to receive 15cm of snow and 90mm of rain.
