Overview
- A fallen tree hit the railway at Stansted Mountfitchet during Friday's Storm Austen and damaged the overhead electric wires, blocking all lines and triggering hundreds of cancellations and delays on the Greater Anglia network.
- Network Rail engineers are working on site to repair the damaged electrification and have warned that restoration work is likely to continue into the early hours of Sunday, leaving many services suspended until about 02:00 on October 25.
- Greater Anglia has issued a 'do not travel' warning for affected routes and is publishing full cancellation lists while arranging replacement buses for some journeys and offering alternative ticket acceptance.
- Stansted Express told customers not to travel between Broxbourne and Stansted Airport and published routed alternatives via Kings Cross and Cambridge for passengers who must reach the airport.
- Storm Austen also brought multiple separate fallen trees across southern and eastern England that have blocked lines for other operators, caused local replacement coaches and taxis to run, and will lengthen recovery because overhead power lines need specialist, power-isolated repairs.