New Year’s Eve revellers face party plans being wrecked by travel chaos and gale force winds
MILLIONS of New Year’s Eve partygoers face seeing their plans wrecked by travel chaos, gale force winds and even blizzards.
Revellers hoping for a big night out have been warned of huge road and rail delays.
Temperatures are set to plunge, with 75mph gusts of wind and four inches of snow wreaking havoc.
Dozens of train services have already been axed amid chronic staff shortages and storm damage.
Ten million are expected to hit the roads tomorrow sparking gridlock warnings for the M1, M25 and M4-M5 interchange in Bristol.
Strong winds in the South, East Anglia and Wales could also cause mayhem for flights and ferries.
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Storms Pia and Gerrit left a trail of destruction over Christmas — with strong winds destroying homes and downing power lines as heavy rain caused flooding.
Last night more than 100 new flood warnings were in place.
The desperate outlook comes as 100,000 people prepare to descend on London for a sold-out New Year’s Eve firework display.
A further 30,000 will gather in Edinburgh for Hogmanay.
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Huge crowds are also expected in Leeds, Birmingham and towns and cities across the country.
But cancelled or delayed trains could scupper many plans.
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) cancelled at least six long-distance trains yesterday due to a lack of staff. Other services were severely delayed or cut short.
A shortage of crew at Edinburgh meant CrossCountry axed trains.
Avanti West Coast also cancelled services in and out of London’s Euston due to staffing issues.
Other lines out of Euston will be “subject to alteration and possible cancellation” in the coming days.
Thameslink warned of major disruption until 5am on January 1 because of a shortage of train crew.
Services between Bedford and London will be significantly reduced during the afternoon and night of New Year’s Eve.
There will also be far fewer trains than normal between the capital and Brighton.
Many revellers will even struggle to get home after New Year’s Eve celebrations in London as there will be no overnight Thameslink trains to Bedford or Brighton.
London Northwestern Railway warned passengers it is anticipating crowding and disruption to services on New Year’s Eve.
It blamed Storm Gerrit, high sickness rates and reduced capacity.
Northern, the country’s second largest operator, warned it would be running no services on six lines tomorrow because of train crew being unavailable.
Bosses imposed Do Not Travel alerts for services in and out of Manchester Victoria, Manchester Piccadilly and Preston.
There will also be no trains between Morecambe and Lancaster, or Clitheroe and Bolton.
Services on other lines will finish earlier than usual at around 4pm.
Chiltern Railways, which runs between London Marylebone and the West Midlands, warned staff shortages would lead to a high risk of short-notice cancellations and disruption across all routes.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “While staffing is a matter for industry, we are working with them to ensure they are able to deliver the services that passengers need, making clear that we will hold them to account if they let passengers down.”
The Met Office said areas hit hardest by Storm Gerrit would suffer more wind, rain and snow as the clocks strike midnight.
Forecasters yesterday issued yellow weather warnings for vast swathes of the nation.
Andy Page, a Met Office chief forecaster, said: “Parts of the higher ground of Scotland may see temporary snow accumulations of two to four inches, while up to 25mm of rain is expected in Wales.
“Across Wales and southern England wind gusts of 45 to 50mph are likely to be quite widespread, while gusts of 65 to 75mph are possible in exposed coastal areas.”
Daytime temperatures are expected to reach 11 or 12C across the South but overnight temperatures are set to fall below freezing.
RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: “Storm Gerrit might have passed but, with another round of distinctly unsettled weather moving in, drivers are going to need to be ready to cope with difficult driving conditions in the run up to the New Year.
"The most important thing they should do is reduce their speeds. Driving slower also gives motorists more time to react to changing conditions up ahead.”
The Environment Agency said it was “monitoring closely” for any risks of flooding.
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A spokesman said: “At this time of year, with people out walking over the festive and New Year period, it’s particularly important to take care near riverbanks.”
Nick Silkstone, the deputy chief forecaster at the Met Office, said January would kick off with colder-than-average conditions.
