LIVE UPDATES: Travel along the EastLondonLine disrupted Monday due to St Jude’s storm

Storm, St Jude, London

St Jude storm tracked across the UK. Pic: Met office

Eastlondonlines will keep you updated on weather and transport advice through the rush hour as forecasters warn residents in ELL boroughs to get ready for hurricane-force winds and rain on Sunday night and Monday .

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for London. They said that the storm is expected to bring gusts between 60-80mph across the southern half of the UK.

You can read about the clean up operation in Hackney here.

Monday 11:35

Services are slowly beginning to return to normal. This will conclude our coverage for now, many thanks to those who followed us during St Jude’s storm.

Thank you to our reporters Chris Dillon, Courtney Greatrex and Gaëlle Laforest.

Monday 11:25

Old Kent Road is still closed due to a crane that collapsed earlier this morning:

A crane collapsed on Old Kent Road. Pic: Emmet Simpson

A crane collapsed on Old Kent Road. Pic: Emmet Simpson

London Overground are still operating a reduced service between Highbury & Islington and New Cross/New Cross Gate.

Southern Rail UK have said:

The Highways Agency have just tweeted:


The Met Office have released imagery of St Jude’s storm crossing the UK

 

Monday 10:33

Train companies are still saying they won’t be running services until Network Rail has given the all clear and made sure any obstructions are cleared. Revised timetables, slow running trains, delays and cancellations are expected until further notice.

Southern Railway have said: “Gatwick Express services will be reinstated shortly after this point, and Southern tickets will be accepted on Gatwick Express services. We will then begin operating on further routes once they have been confirmed as clear, and are safe for us to run services. We expect that these routes will include Arun Valley services via Three Bridges.” – This is not likely to be before 11am.

Southeastern Railway have said that all three lines from Dartford have been blocked by falling trees. There will be a half-hourly service between Blackfriars and Orpingon via Catford. South West Trains have reported more than 30 trees blocking their lines and expect services to be cancelled until 12pm.

First Capital Connect have advised commuters not to travel today as their services are not running as of yet. The Overground is still running a reduced service only between Highbury and Islington and New Cross/New Cross Gate There are no services between Lloyd Park to New Addington on the Croydon Tramlink:

Monday 10:17 Hackney Council have closed all parks in the borough due to fallen trees and debris: https://twitter.com/hackneyliving/statuses/394744323364773888Monday 10:03 Staff just informed Croydon commuters that no trains until 10.30am to 11am. There are no update on destinations as of yet.  TFL have updated travellers on Twitter that there are only trains running from Highbury & Islington due to ‘extensive damage’ https://twitter.com/LDNOverground/statuses/394766174476861440 London Fire Brigade reported a huge number of calls this morning:

Monday 9:33 Update: One commuter has just told ELL that there will be four trains per hour from Highbury & Islington to New Cross Gate and another four trains per hour from Dalston Junction to New Cross and no service on any other routes. Monday 9:15am

Netword Rail update: Robin Gisby, Network Rail’s managing director of network operations, said: “ We have had several hundred staff on duty through the night and into the morning to monitor conditions and react to any damage or disruption caused by hurricane-force winds. Safety remains our top priority.” Gisby is hopeful that services will begin to resume from around 9am in the South of London once routes are cleared from trees and other obstructions. He said: “At the latest count we have had more than 100 trees down across the southern half of the country and we expect to find more as we complete our safety checks this morning. “We are also experiencing some problems with signalling and other equipment as a result of the power cuts from outside the railway which are affecting some parts of the country.” London Overground update: https://twitter.com/LDNOverground/statuses/394754428001353728

Monday 9:09am Busses are also not running from New Cross Gate due to the fallen crane on Old Kent Road: https://twitter.com/TheLewishamWay/statuses/394751162366590976Here is a scene from Balham station in South London: https://twitter.com/UKStorm2013/statuses/394753072146415616 Monday 8:58am Transport chaos continues in ELL boroughs: https://twitter.com/_RichardHall/statuses/394742551762444288 Southwest trains have given an update on their current train service. They said:  “Cleared 21 of 33 trees. Services now not expected to start until at least 11:00”https://twitter.com/SW_Trains/statuses/394749938489241600   More fallen trees reported:    https://twitter.com/AngelaELL/statuses/394749574491144192Monday 8:49  It has been reported that New Cross and New Cross Gate stations are both closed until at least 10am due to trees on lines. London Overground have said that services are suspended on the Overground until at least 9am: https://twitter.com/LDNOverground/statuses/394705537625227264 https://twitter.com/TheLewishamWay/statuses/394746734045577216Reports of fallen trees in Lewisham are still coming through: https://twitter.com/TheLewishamWay/statuses/394741566675644416Monday 8:35 Croydon BID have just overhead at East Croydon station: https://twitter.com/CroydonBID/statuses/394743615425359872Another London resident has photographed the storm leaving London:

Monday 8:27

Local residents in London are documenting their storm experiences on Youtube:

 

Monday 8:12

Commuters are reporting schedule boards from London Bridge and Waterloo. Almost all trains are cancelled.

Trains cancelled at London Bridge pic: craiglegrice

Trains cancelled at London Bridge pic: craiglegrice

Monday 7:54

Some images from ELL boroughs:

Storm, UK storm

Tree in Hither Green, Lewisham snapped in half. Pic: doyounoah on instagram

Cars trapped under fallen scaffolding on Francis Road, Hackney. Pic: Mark Davies

Cars trapped under fallen scaffolding on Francis Road. Pic: Mark Davies

Monday 7:48

The London Fire Brigade have recieved 303 storm-related calls. They said:

Monday 7:42

Southern Rail UK have just announced:

Monday 7:30am

Old Kent Road seems to be very disrupted this morning – a crane has fallen down, tree has fallen down at the junction between New Kent Road and Massinger Street.

A crane has collapsed on Old Kent Road Pic: @thebarneydog

A crane has collapsed on Old Kent Road Pic: @thebarneydog

One commuter has said:

The Blackwall Tunnel is also closed:

Monday 7:15am

The TFL DLR is running from Lewisham to Bank:

Monday 7:01am

There have been several reports of fallen trees in London with winds hitting a high of 59mph in Heathrow.

fallen tree in Bensham Manor Road pic: @ThorntonHHRT

fallen tree in Bensham Manor Road pic: @ThorntonHHRT

fallen tree at the corner of Goldsmiths Row and Broadway Market

Fallen tree at the corner of Goldsmiths Row and Broadway Market, Hackney. Pic: Anna Prokova

Croydon Tramlink have just confirmed:

Monday 6:45am

TRANSPORT UPDATE:

Southern Rail UK have confirmed:

South West Trains has warned people not to travel at all today and is running a reduced timetable.

London Overground, First Capital Connect, Gatwick Express, Greater Anglia Trains and C2C trains will not be running any services before 9am Southern Railway have said they are “highly unlikely” to run any services before 9am.

Southeasten Railway is running a reduced service and said some routes will not run until past 9am. The Eurostar is suspended until at least

7am. East Coast Trains are operating an amended timetable due to speed reductions south of York Station. East Midland Trains are not running services in or out of London St Pancras until 10am.Sunday 10:00pm

Heathrow Airport has cancelled 60 flights due to the storm. Passengers due to travel on Monday are being advised to check the status of their flight with their airline before travelling to the airport. Heathrow Express will be operating a half hourly service until 10am due to reducing their track speeds.

Gatwick airport are also urging their customers to check the status of their flight with their airline well in advance of its scheduled time. Train services will not be running to Gatwick early Monday morning.
Croydon Tramlink services are running, Buses are running (130 & 466 on diversion) no train services from West or East Croydon
The Highways Agency has issued a severe weather alert for high-sided vehicles, caravans, motorbikes and other vulnerable vehicles.

Sunday 7.53pm

The Met Office have released a video which details the progression of the St Jude’s storm over the next 24 hours. Chief forecaster, Nick Grahame has said that by lunchtime on Monday the storm will have moved away into the North Sea. Watch here:

 

Sunday 7:34pm

St Jude: patron saint of lost causes

St Jude: patron saint of lost causes

While we’re waiting for the full effect of St Jude to take hold of South England, why not enjoy our selection of wonderful St Jude facts to take your mind off the weather:

  • St Jude was born in the Roman Province of Galilee and died in The province of Syria.
  •  St Jude is probably not the inspiration behind the Beatle’s hit.
  • The Armenian Apostolic Church honours him as one of their patron saints. In the Roman Catholic Church he is the patron saint of lost causes.
  • St Jude is NOT Judas Iscariot, another one of the 12 disciples who betrayed Jesus.
  • His feast day is October 28 which is why this storm was named after him.

Sunday 6:22pm

TFL Overground have tweeted:

 

This follows from Network Rail’s initial warning earlier in the day to suspend services before 9am

Sunday 5:25pm

The Metropolitan Police are reminding Londoners to dial 101 when contacting police during the storm if it is not an emergency, 999 should be reserved for when an immediate response is needed. Non-emergency crime can also be reported via the Met’s website at www.met.police.uk.

The London Fire Brigade is stressing the need for residents to take care during what could be the worst weather in 25 years.

Assistant Commissioner Steve Hamm, the Brigade’s head of operational resilience, said: “London could be hard hit by the severe weather, so we’re reminding people to be extra careful.

“Strong winds can pick up loose objects, so make sure anything that could be blown over like garden furniture is safely put away. Take care when out and about, as flying debris can be dangerous and cause serious injuries.

“London firefighters will be on standby ready to help anyone who might be affected. We will be on hand to help with any serious flooding that may happen as a result of heavy rain, and will be available should any buildings or roads be severely affected by the weather.

“Remember our crews might be very busy, so please only dial 999 if it’s an emergency.”

Sunday 4:41pm

Southern Rail UK, which runs through Croydon, Brockley and New Cross has just tweeted:

They later tweeted a user saying “this decision is down to network rail.”

Network Rail have said they are working closely with rail operators to ensure that additional resources are available to keep the network clear of disruption and that passengers are well informed.

Robin Gisby, Network Rail’s managing director of network operations, said: “We are monitoring the forecast closely and have put in place agreed industry plans for dealing with difficult conditions such as these.

“Our maintenance teams will be out over the weekend to check that key drainage points are clear and we will have additional teams available across the network to clear fallen trees and repair any damaged equipment as quickly as possible to allow train operators to keep services running safely. As ever, safety is our top priority.”

Michael Roberts, director general of Rail Delivery Group, added: “Passengers can log onto nationalrail.co.uk or sign-up for free Twitter alerts to find out how their train service is running.”

Sunday 1pm

Frank Saunders, Chief Forecaster at the Met Office, said: “We are confident that a severe storm will affect Britain on Sunday night and Monday. We are now looking at refining the details about which areas will see the strongest winds and the heaviest rain.”

The Met Office have warned of possible structural damage, transport disruptions, power cuts and the potential of flooding.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Environment Agency teams are out working to minimise river flood risk, clearing debris from streams and unblocking culverts. We will continue to closely monitor the situation ready to issue flood warnings if needed. We are supporting local authorities who will respond to any reports of surface water flooding.”

The storm has been named St Jude after the patron saint for desperate and lost causes because his feast day is October 28, the day that the storm is expected to take effect.

 

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