Mersey Reporter - #Merseybites #News

THE impact of Storm Babet has resulted in major incidents declared, and the sad loss of 3 lives, during the flood chaos and red weather warnings that have affected large parts of Scotland, and parts of England and Wales.

Storm Babet is the 2nd named storm of the autumn to hit the UK and it has led to many roads being closed and rail services being affected. Thankfully, Merseyside has missed the worst of the storm's wrath, but it has still resulted in major disruption to some of Merseyrail's services, due to the heavy rain.

A Merseyrail spokesperson said:- "Due to the ongoing impact of severe weather in the South Wirral area, rail replacement buses are operating between:- Rock Ferry and Chester. Although the weather has now improved there is still significant flooding and damage in the Ledsham and Capenhurst area. Network Rail is working hard to pump away flood water and repair damage that is affecting the network. We hope to get the line back into operation soon, but it may be some time before services are fully restored on the Chester line. We are pleased to say services on the Ellesmere Port are now running but will be subject to slight delays. Customers are advised to check before travelling, on our https://www.merseyrail.org/ website or on our https://Twitter.Com/Merseyrail feed for live updates. You can also download the Merseyrail app to get live departures and the latest information. We will restart services soon as it is possible, once the Chester line is reinstated."

Throughout the UK disruption to trains is expected to continue on some routes, but it is hoped most services will be operational again by the end of the day on:- Sunday, 22 October 2023, but it could take longer on more badly affected lines. Please check your whole journey before traveling. If you are heading off on the rail network, we suggest you check on the National Rail website to see if your journey might be affected still, as the cleanup continues.