Jun 29 2012

Floods have wrecked road and rail travel again, with major train routes closed and some highways shut to traffic.

The two main London to Scotland train companies - East Coast and Virgin West Coast - had services disrupted, with East Coast unable to run any trains between Newcastle upon Tyne and Edinburgh.

The storms, which led to the death of teacher Mike Ellis in Shropshire, also resulted in a spate of road closures, particularly in Worcestershire, Cheshire and Cumbria.

While transport continued to be disrupted there was better news from forecasters who predicted that the worst of the storms were over, at the end of a month likely to be one of the wettest Junes on record.

Due to flooding and a landslip near Berwick, there were no trains running between Newcastle and Berwick, with the line not expected to open until Saturday morning.

The Berwick problems meant there were no East Coast services to and from Glasgow Central or Inverness.

ScotRail services in the West Highlands were being badly delayed by a 24-wagon freight train derailment between Tulloch and Corrour, and a landslip occurred between Ardlui and Arrochar. There were delays of up to 90 minutes, with service alterations and bus replacements in some areas.

Passengers have spoken of enduring a 15-hour London to Scotland rail journey due to flooding and landslips.

In a separate incident on Thursday, passengers on a 5.20pm Birmingham to Glasgow Virgin Trains service did not arrive in Glasgow until 4am on Friday after an engine fire forced an evacuation.

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UK & World News: Further travel chaos after floods