U.K. Rail Disruptions Prolonged on Flood-Damage Repairs

Travel disruptions across Britain’s rail network persisted for a seventh day as repairs of flood damage and continued high water forced service suspensions.

Trains out of London’s Paddington station, including the Heathrow Express that connects the center of the U.K. capital to its main airport, were halted because work to fix the power supply wasn’t completed, a Network Rail spokesman said today. Partial service on the line has resumed, with delays of as much as two hours, according to the Network Rail website.

U.K. rail operations have been hampered since Dec. 21 after heavy rain damaged equipment and washed away tracks. Schedule disruptions may last into the new year as engineers undertake repairs. The Met Office, Britain’s state-owned weather- forecasting service, said some heavy rain will affect England today, bringing the risk of “further localized flooding” that affects transportation.

Long-distance rail service particularly in the southwest of England has also been affected, according to the National Rail website. CrossCountry and First Great Western operators are shifting passengers from trains onto buses to bridge gaps in the rail network.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Wall in London at rwall6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Benedikt Kammel at bkammel@bloomberg.net