The UK is facing further travel disruption this month as the cold weather causes delays affecting road, rail and air travel.
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Last night was the coldest night of the year and prompted the Met Office to issue fresh snow and ice warnings covering large parts of the country this morning. Schools have also been forced to close in many areas as temperatures plummeted as low as -15.7C in Aberdeenshire, as per the BBC.
Travel chaos
Flights
So far 140 flights in UK airports have been cancelled due to the snow and ice, with the airports around London most affected, including Gatwick, Luton and Stansted and London City. Other airports across the country have also faced cancellations such as Belfast and Aberdeen.
Tube lines
In London, travellers have also faced difficulties getting around the city with most tube lines having severe delays or part closures yesterday. Transport for London (TfL) showed delays throughout the day on most of the London Underground lines as well as the Overground.
Railway lines
Railway lines are still having problems and there continues to be delays on many lines, particularly in the south-east of the country. Southeastern Railway advised passengers not to travel unless completely necessary as it cancelled several trains this morning to carry out safety checks, as per the BBC.
'Treacherous' roads
Drivers are being told to not travel today with Simon Williams, spokesman for RAC Breakdown, saying conditions are ‘treacherous’ following a big refreeze overnight. Many motorists were stuck in the cars overnight on the M25 and M11 due to the poor weather conditions, as per The Independent.
The warnings have remained in place on the M25, though a section that had been shut between junctions 23 and 25 has now reopened.Traffic Scotland, the Scottish motorways body, has also issued warnings with snow and ice creating challenging conditions in several regions of the country.
The Met Office’s yellow snow and ice warning covering northern Scotland and north-east England is in place from midnight today until midday on Thursday, with drivers urged to be extra careful in this poor weather.
Sources used:
- BBC 'UK weather: Snow and ice cause travel disruption around UK'
- The Independent 'Weather - latest: UK faces more snow as drivers told to stay home during ‘big refreeze’'
