Air passengers heading to Stansted are facing a miserable end to Friday after a fallen tree brought the rail line to the airport to a halt, prompting a do-not-travel warning for the route.
The tree came down at Stansted Mountfitchet on Friday evening, blocking the railway and damaging the overhead electric wires. Services between Broxbourne and Stansted Airport were cancelled, delayed by significant amounts or revised as a result.
The incident was first reported before 6pm and Network Rail response teams were sent to investigate. National Rail warned that the disruption would last until the end of the day, with journeys on the Stansted Express towards the airport taking up to two hours and 30 minutes — far longer than usual.
Services hit by the fallen tree
Greater Anglia services between London Liverpool Street and Cambridge North, Hertford East, Ely and Bishop’s Stortford were all caught up in the disruption, along with the Stansted Express between London Liverpool Street and the airport itself.
Alternative travel arrangements were put in place for stranded passengers. Train tickets were accepted at no extra cost on the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines between Liverpool Street and King’s Cross St Pancras, on the Victoria line between Tottenham Hale, Finsbury Park and King’s Cross St Pancras, and on Great Northern trains between London King’s Cross and Cambridge.
Another tree on a bad day for the railways
The Stansted disruption caps a chaotic day on the rails. A fallen tree at Ladywell blocked Southeastern services between London Bridge and Hayes earlier, with cancellations and delays of up to 50 minutes, while the Met Office’s yellow wind warning for London remained in force through the evening as Storm Austen battered the capital. Our live coverage of the storm is tracking the latest developments.
Earlier in the day, rush-hour commuters also endured severe delays on the Northern line and suspensions on parts of the Overground and Tramlink, as detailed in our evening rush-hour update. A separate points failure at West Drayton also disrupted Paddington to Reading services — a reminder that Friday’s travel pain was about far more than the weather.
What “do not travel” means for airport passengers
A do-not-travel warning is one of the strongest messages the rail industry issues. It means passengers are being advised not to set out at all unless their journey is essential, because the level of disruption makes a reliable trip unlikely.
Anyone flying out of Stansted on Friday night should check their flight status with their airline as well as their train journey, and allow far more time than normal. Alternative routes to the airport include National Express and Airport Bus Express coach services, though these will also have been in high demand during the disruption.
The fallen tree is the latest of several weather-related incidents on the capital’s transport network today, with high winds bringing down branches and trees across London. Passengers travelling over the weekend should check for further updates before setting out, as recovery work continues and timetables may still be amended into Saturday.
Claiming compensation
Passengers caught up in the disruption may be entitled to compensation under the Delay Repay scheme, which covers delays of 15 minutes or more on most train companies’ services. To support a claim, keep your train ticket — or your booking confirmation if you bought online — and make a note of the services you intended to catch and the delay you experienced. Claims can be made directly to the train company that sold the ticket.
Passengers were also advised to check their journeys using the National Rail real-time journey planner before setting out, as the situation was expected to change through the evening as Network Rail teams worked to clear the line.
