Storm Austen - disruption to Great Western Railway services in south west England on Friday 23 October 

Route(s) affected

Various routes across south west England

Description

Storm Austen has been named by the Met Office. Amber and yellow weather warnings have been issued for Friday 23 October. Great Western Railway will make some pre-planned amendments to their service in the area on this date. There may be further changes to service levels depending on the impact of Storm Austen.

You are strongly encouraged to check your journey before travelling and allow extra time where possible.

Service impact:

To keep trains running safely, speed restrictions will be imposed on routes in Devon and Cornwall between the start of service and 13:00.

As a result Great Western Railway will be operating fewer trains than normal. Trains that do run are expected to be busier and some journeys could take longer than usual.

Long distance services towards Devon and Cornwall will run between Reading and Plymouth only, with connections onto local services.

Thursday night’s Sleeper service from London Paddington will terminate at Plymouth.

Other services in the region are likely to change. Some early-morning services will be cancelled to allow teams to assess the impact of any damage in full daylight.

Refunds:

If you no longer wish to travel, you can claim a full refund.

Check before you travel:

These alterations are now yet showing on the National Rail real-time Journey Planner. Please check back later.

Compensation:

You may be entitled to compensation if you experience a delay in completing your journey today. Please keep your train ticket and make a note of your journey, as both will be required to support any claim.