London King’s Cross station forced to close as Storm Babet brings travel chaos

Train lines are inoperable in many parts of the UK as Storm Babet causes significant flooding

London King’s Cross train station has been forced to close as Storm Babet brings severe disruption to Britain’s rail network.

Train operators around the UK advised customers not to travel on Saturday due to widespread flooding caused by the storm, which has killed three people and seen trapped residents airlifted from their homes.

With a second rare red weather alert for rain having been put in place and hundreds of flood warnings in force across England and Scotland, flights from Leeds Bradford airport finally began to resume some 24 hours after a plane skidded off the runway in high winds while carrying 195 passengers and crew, none of whom were injured.

Emergency services attended the scene after a passenger plane came off the runway at Leeds Bradford airport (Danny Lawson/PA)

But with train lines widely inoperable, King’s Cross was forced to shut in order “to manage passenger numbers on the concourse and on platforms”, due to disruption to LNER services – with footage posted on social media showing huge crowds amassed both inside and outside the station.

At 5:30pm, Network Rail said it had removed the temporary crowd control measures, some five hours after they were announced.

There is “an extremely limited service” in place due to flooding between Doncaster and Wakefield, LNER said, while there are no LNER services north of Edinburgh on Saturday, with rail replacement services also unavailable because of road closures.

Remaining services may be subject to short-notice cancellations, the train operator said, while Avanti West Coast and Northern Rail have also warned against travelling.

There are no services from Sheffield to Nottingham or Lincoln due to flooding, while trains are also unable to travel between Leeds and Doncaster, Harrogate and Bradford.

Residents were rescued from their home in the village of Debenham, Suffolk (PA)

All lines between Cheadle Hulme in Greater Manchester and Wilmslow, in Cheshire, are blocked due to damage to overhead electric wires.

The line between Newcastle and Morpeth is also closed due to viaduct damage, Northern Rail added.

Avanti West Coast said its services are severely disrupted and has asked customers to not travel between Crewe and North Wales. It said people should only travel between Preston and Glasgow or Edinburgh if absolutely necessary.

At Leeds Bradford airport, the first flight out on Saturday was a Jet2 flight to Heraklion, which had been due to depart at 6am. It took off at 2.17pm. Tui customers who were due to travel from Leeds Bradford on Saturday were being directed to Manchester airport instead, the airline said.

Experts say Babet is an “extraordinary” storm which has been fuelled by several factors, including the impact of a typhoon on the jet stream and rising temperatures.

The two red weather alerts for rain in eastern Scotland are the first issued by the Met Office since Storm Dennis in 2020, which left at least three people dead.

Several flood warnings were issued along the length of the River Don as heavy rain continues in Kintore, Scotland (Getty Images)

People in up to 100 homes across Angus have been rescued from their flooded homes, with some airlifted out, according to the council’s resilience, risk and safety chief Jacqui Semple, who added: “We’re not out of the woods by a long shot.”

In England, more than 300 flood warnings – and three severe warnings around the River Derwent in Derbyshire – have been issued by the Environment Agency since Thursday, with the greatest numbers in Yorkshire, and the East and West Midlands.

“Ongoing flooding is probable on some larger rivers including the Severn, Ouse and Trent through to Tuesday,” said the agency’s flood duty manager Katharine Smith.

Additional reporting by PA