| Thursday, February 08, 2007 |
| Heavy snowfall stops England, Wales on their tracks |
Travel chaos prevailed all over England and Wales on Thursday morning as passengers were left stranded at airports, schools were closed, and commuters suffered rush-hour travel jam after as much as four inches of snow fell within just hours in the morning.
Luton and Stansted, Birmingham, and Cardiff airports were all shut because of snow on their runways.
Commuters going to their workplaces by car and train in rush hour were also hard-hit after the heaviest snow fell at 5 a.m.
Trains around major urban centres and long-distance inter-city services were either delayed or cancelled, while major motorways were blocked or slow.
Scotland and northern England were the only areas unaffected by the blast of snowfall, with southern and central England suffering the worst.
Some of the worst chaos was suffered by passengers at airports.
At Stansted Airport in Essex, no flights left from or arrived at the terminal on Thursday morning because of blocked runways.
Luton Airport was closed for up to four hours because of bad weather at 7 a.m.
Bristol Airport was closed in the morning even as eight flights were waiting, fully boarded.
Cardiff and Birmingham airports also suffered from snow on runways.
Commuter trains all around London were affected in the morning. Rail services into London from Kent and Sussex were running late.
Long-distance trains from major Midlands cities to London and the south were also cancelled on Thursday morning.
In London, the Underground reported serious delays on the Central and Metropolitan Lines. There were minor delays on the Bakerloo Line, and part-suspensions in the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly Lines.
Motorway chaos was reported on the M25 in Hertfordshire after a lane was closed because snowfall had rendered it unusable.Labels: Travel |
| posted by a correspondent @ 11:18 PM |
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