Disruption on roads and rail as Met Office issues yellow thunderstorm warning

If you need to hit the road or catch a train tonight in the affected areas, prepare for delays due to wet weather.

Met Office warned of thunderstorms coupled with heavy showers in parts of England and Wales tonight.

The warning is in place until midnight – and driving conditions are likely to be affected.

Here is what the Met Office warned of.

• Spray, standing water and/or hail causing longer journey times by car and bus
• Some flooding of homes and businesses
• Short term power cuts
• Delays to trains
• Possible damage to buildings and structures due to lightning strikes, hail or gusty wind especially close to coasts

Read more about it here.

The Monday evening commute has not gone according to plan for Southeastern passengers.

A fault with the signalling system – essentially the railway traffic lights – means trains could be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised.

National Rail said: ‘There is a fault with the signalling system and faulty train at London Charing Cross, preventing access to some platforms.

‘Response staff are en route.’

The disruption could last until 8pm.

Hastings line trains and Maidstone East line trains are diverted to and from London Cannon Street.

Passengers can use their tickets on London Underground between Cannon Street and Charing Cross/Embankment free of charge.

The A21 is shut in both directions after a crash involving two cars in East Sussex.

The carriageway is closed between the A2100 John’s Cross and the A28 near Baldslow due to the crash.

Emergency services are on the scene along with an air ambulance, traffic service Inrix said.

With the rush hour about to kick off, commuters are crossing their fingers for a smooth journey home.

It could be anything but for passengers on South Western Railway after a trespassing incident at Isleworth.

SWR trains could be delayed or diverted via Richmond while staff try to get the ‘individual to a place of safety,’ the rail company said.

The disruption is expected to last until 5pm.

Passengers travelling on some Southern and Thameslink routes should prepare for delays.

This is because a safety inspection of the track between Horsham and Crawley means trains have to go slower than usual.

Here are the affected routes.

• Southern between Portsmouth Harbour / Portsmouth & Southsea / Bognor Regis and London Victoria
• Thameslink between Horsham and Peterborough

Trains could be delayed by up to 10 minutes, but no cancellations have been announced.

All lanes have now opened after the crash involving four vehicles.

However, the coast is not clear yet for motorists queueing up to pass the crash site – there are still 60-minute delays, National Highways said.

‘Please allow extra time if travelling in the area as ,’ it said.

Fortunately, all the drivers involved in the smash were unhurt.

Leicestershire Police confirmed no one was injured in the four vehicle collision which was first reported at about 1.22pm.

Three out of four lanes have reopened on the M1 southbound following a crash at junction 21 near Leicester.

Lane four is still closed for recovery and debris clearance work to take place.

There are currently 45 minute delays and three miles of queueing traffic in the area.

All lines between Gospel Oak and Barking Riverside have reopened after the broken down train at Crouch Hill was moved out of the way.

There could still be residual delays in the area while service returns to normal.

Service has returned to normal between Reading and London Paddington after emergency services had to deal with an incident.

There are no more delays in the area.

A broken down train at Crouch Hill is blocking London Overground services between Gospel Oak and Barking Riverside.

National Rail expects the disruption, including cancellations or revisions, to last until 3.30pm.

Meanwhile in London, there are minor delays on the Piccadilly line between Cockfosters and Acton Town while TfL deals with a customer incident at Holloway Road.

The rest of the Underground network has good service.

A signal failure at around 7am today has been repaired, and service has now returned to normal in the area.

It was initially thought the disruption would last until as late as 4pm, but good news if you were planning to travel through the area, as things are back to normal now.

An earlier signalling fault has been fixed and all lines through Glasgow Central have reopened.

However as service recovers National Rail warns trains could still be cancelled or delayed by up to 20 minutes.

The disruption is still set to last until 2.30pm.

Both lanes on the M4 eastbound has reopened between junction 2 for Brentford and 1 for Chiswick, following a crash earlier this morning.

There are still delays on approach but all traffic which had been caught within the closure was cleared earlier.

A fault with the signalling system at Glasgow Central blocked some lines and caused disruption to ScotRail services.

Those lines have fully reopened however trains could still be cancelled or delayed by up to 20 minutes.

National Rail predicts the disruption will last until 2.30pm.

As we reported earlier, trains between Manchester Victoria and Chester were disrupted due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

The situation has cleared earlier than expected and service on Northern trains has returned to normal.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: ‘We are sorry for the disruption to services between King’s Cross and Leeds today as a result of a Northern Powergrid issue between Doncaster and Wakefield.

‘Our teams have closed all lines in the area and we are working in partnership with Northern Powergrid to re-open the line as soon as possible.

‘Fewer services are able to run between Leeds and Kings Cross and we are urging all passengers to check their journeys before travelling via National Rail enquiries as journey times may be longer and involve rail replacement services.’

Sussex Police has confirmed the A27 has reopened in both directions after being closed throughout most of the morning.

The closure near Shoreham has now been lifted after a man died on the road ‘following a fall’.

A spokesperson for the force has now confirmed the victim was a 28-year-old man from the Brighton area, and he had fallen from Mill Hill Road bridge.

Police don’t believe there are any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

Delays and disruption between Shenfield and Romford, caused by a signal fault at Gidea Park, has now ended.

National Rail says service has returned to normal.

The emergency services have now left the scene and all lines have reopened.

However as service returns to normal, passengers could still face cancellations, revisions, or delays of up to 90 minutes.

The major disruption is expected to last until at least midday.

As we reported earlier this morning, the A27 is closed in both directions near Shoreham after a person died on the road.