Storm Babet causes ‘major disruption’ to Merseyrail services - train operator issues advice to travellers

Storm Babet caused major disruption to Merseyrail services on Friday and the heavy rain is set to continue into Saturday amid a series of yellow and amber alerts for the region from the Met Office.

Commuters on Merseyrail are advised to check before travelling and to not make any unnecessary journeys. The Met Office has weather warnings for rain in place until 6am on Saturday morning.

The stormy weather caused major disruption on the Ellsemere Port and Chester lines, while minor disruptions were reported on the New Brighton route ealry in the morning.

Merseyrail had been braced for Storm Babet to hit and put rail replacement buses on standby, but the operator warned these too could be affected by the wet weather, with a risk of flooding reported.

Neil Grabham, Managing Director at Merseyrail, said: “As a rail operator our first priority is the safety of our customers and staff. Given the weather warnings from the Met Office, we are taking steps to warn our customers in advance of likely disruption. Our team and colleagues from Network Rail will be working overnight and throughout tomorrow to provide the best service possible, but the weather forecast tomorrow afternoon does look particularly poor.”

Disruptions to Merseyrail service

• Ellesmere Port - Major Disruption
• Chester - Major Disruption
• New Brighton - Minor Disruption

Services on all other Merseyrail lines - Southport, Ormskirk, Headbolt Lane via Kirkby, Hunts Cross and West Kirby -  were reported as ‘good’.