Storm Austen battered parts of the UK with heavy rain and winds reaching up to 80mph on 23 October 2026, triggering a Met Office yellow weather alert across London from 10am to 9pm and affecting large areas of central, southern, and eastern England. Fallen trees blocked multiple railway lines, causing widespread train cancellations and delays.
Rail Disruptions on Southern, Thameslink and Commuter Routes
Southern Rail and Thameslink services experienced early-morning disruptions due to fallen trees along several routes. A lightning strike at Normans Bay prevented trains from stopping at the station. Trees blocked lines at Angmering, affecting services between Worthing and Angmering; Moulsecoomb, causing delays on Lewes to
Brighton routes; Uckfield, impacting Crowborough to Uckfield travel; as well as Balcombe and Swanwick, disrupting Haywards Heath to Brighton and Southampton Central to Fareham services respectively. By midday, Southern and Thameslink had resumed operations to their booked timetable, though residual delays persisted on routes between Fareham and Southampton and between Arundel and Horsham.
CrossCountry and Great Western Railway Service Changes
CrossCountry suspended all services between Plymouth and Penzance on 23 October, with further amendments on Bristol-Plymouth-Penzance routes continuing into 24 October. Great Western Railway announced free acceptance of CrossCountry tickets between Cheltenham Spa and Penzance amid the disruptions. Service reductions accompanied imposed speed restrictions on routes in
Devon and Cornwall, limiting many Great Western Railway trains to the Reading-Plymouth section. Early-morning cancellations allowed damage assessment teams to operate safely.
Rail Replacement Transport and Localized Suspensions
Rail replacement coaches operated between Exeter St Davids, Okehampton Interchange, and Okehampton in both directions. Trains running between Par and Newquay were suspended due to a tree on the line, with rail replacement taxis requested. Services between Truro and Falmouth Docks ran at reduced speed with a reduced timetable, with trains departing Truro at 15 minutes past each hour and Falmouth Docks at 45 minutes past the hour.
Northern Services and Additional Line Blockages
Northern services were altered with all Hull to Halifax trains
starting and terminating at Bradford Interchange. Leeds to York via Harrogate services omitted Weeton or Headingley stops in both directions. Leeds to Chester trains did not call at Bramley, York to Blackpool North services skipped New Pudsey, Ashington to Newcastle trains missed Northumberland Park, and Blackburn to Headbolt Lane services bypassed Smithy Bridge. A tree blocking the line between Branksome and Bournemouth blocked all tracks, causing delays of up to 45 minutes on trains between Weymouth and Bournemouth. Response teams worked to clear the blockage, but delays and cancellations continued on routes from Weymouth, Poole, Bournemouth to London Waterloo. Trains
on the Brockenhurst to Lymington Pier route were suspended indefinitely. A tree blocking the railway at Horsley delayed services between Guildford and Effingham Junction; though removed, cancellations and delays persisted during recovery. Further line blockages at Shawford and Botley affected services between Weymouth, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, and London Waterloo.
Several flights from London to the Channel Islands were cancelled on 23 October due to high winds caused by Storm Austen.
National Rail advised passengers to check their entire journeys before travelling amid ongoing severe disruptions across multiple routes and service operators.
