Floods bring Christmas travel misery to thousands
Last minute Christmas travel plans have been thrown into chaos by floods and severe disruption on the railways.
Trains running through Bath are being delayed and cancelled and flooding between Bristol and Swindon is adding to the problems.
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Western Riverside in Bath recently. Picture on Twitter from Philip Andrews
Services between Bristol Parkway and Swindon are being diverted through Bath Spa Station. Journeys could take up to 45 minutes longer.
And travellers heading south towards Devon and Cornwall are facing severe delays as a flooded line could remain closed for up to five days, network rail has admitted.
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British Rail has appealed to people to make alternative arrangements to travel to the two counties with only a limited bus replacements available.
Passenges have been warned journeys times could be extended by two hours.
Network Rail engineer Steve Hawkins said they would have to wait for flooding to subside before they could begin repairs.
On the roads drivers faced flood problems this morning following more heavy rain overnight.
The road was blocked between Farleigh Hungerford and Bradford on Avon this morning.
In Trowbridge the A366 was closed near the Frome Road junction.
A flood warning which urges families to take immediate action as flooding is expected has been issued for the River Avon from Bathford to Melksham.
Families near the river in Bradford on Avon have been told to be prepared as flooding is possible.
More than 30 flood warnings have been issued across the South West and more than 50 flood alerts are still in operation across the region.
The railway line between Tiverton and Exeter is blocked and engineers have used plastic dams in a bid to stop water getting into signal boxes at Cowley Bridge, Devon.
First said the routes between Par and Newquay, Liskeard and Looe and also Exeter and Barnstaple were also facing significant problems.
More weather warnings have been issued again today but forecasters say the rain should ease later.
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For the latest information on flood warnings and alerts in the region, click on the Environment Agency panel below.
Comments
by jezer
Thursday, December 27 2012, 2:17AM
“Oh dear, this is of course bad news for people trying to travel over christmas, but is not the route cause global warming caused by too much reliance on motor transport and other misuse of natural resources? Perhaps this will make people more aware of the environment and their responsibilities? Or perhaps not.”