Flooding brings travel disruption to start new year
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Wind and rain were causing travel disruption in parts of the UK through the early hours of 2025. North-West England was bearing the brunt of the rain on Wednesday morning, although Met Office weather warnings were in place across large parts of England, Wales and Scotland on New Year’s Day.
An amber alert was in place for North-West England until 9am with the Met Office saying heavy rain had fallen across the region for several hours. The forecaster said it was expected to affect parts of Cheshire, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire for a few hours.
The Met Office warning stretches from Settle in the Yorkshire Dales across to Preston and down to parts of the Peak District. It states that heavy rainfall is “likely to lead to disruption including flooding in some locations” with a chance some places could see more than 10cm of rain.
Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service said it had been experiencing a high number of 999 calls due to flooding. TransPennine Express urged customers on its services not to travel before noon on Wednesday, saying flooding was causing “significant issues” in Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
The line was closed between Manchester Piccadilly and Warrington Central with disruption expected until the end of the day, according to National Rail. Trains will not operate between Manchester Airport and the city’s stations on Wednesday, as well as routes between Manchester to Liverpool Lime Street and from both Liverpool and Manchester to Huddersfield, Leeds and York.
