Trains cancelled because it is too dry
South Western Railway (SWR) has said the 'driest conditions for around 200 years' have forced it to halve the amount of trains that run from London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids from Aug 11.
The dry conditions forced the speed limit between Gillingham, Dorset and Axminster, Devon to be reduced after the tracks between the two towns dried out, shrinking the clay soil embankments that support them.
The problem, known as a 'moisture soil deficit', means trains between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids will run every two hours rather than hourly. Trains between Waterloo and Yeovil Junction will also be delayed by 25 minutes.
SWR has not said when the restrictions will be lifted and further dry weather could lead to more speed restrictions being introduced.
An SWR spokesperson said: 'Because track levels have been disturbed, our trains cannot travel safely at their normal speeds.
'Most of the route west of Salisbury is made of single track, with only a small number of places for trains travelling in opposite directions to pass each other.
'With speed restrictions stretching over 12 miles, trains will not be able to pass each other at their allotted times, and so it will not be possible to run services to the normal timetable.
'Our amended timetables have been designed to provide customers with a reliable service until the speed restrictions can be removed.'
SWR announced that once soil moisture levels improve and the ground begins to rehydrate then engineers will be able to stabilise the embankments and restore the track levels. Once this is done, the timetable will go back to normal, SWR have said.
Storm Floris to bring gales and rain
The restrictions come as Storm Floris is set to bring travel chaos to Britain with powerful winds and rain forecast for Monday.
Amber weather warnings have been issued for most of Scotland, lasting from 10am to 10pm, while a yellow alert for wind is in place for northern parts of England from 6am on Monday to 6pm on Tuesday.
National Rail warned there could be delays and cancellations on the railway on Monday and high winds could topple trees and damage power lines.
LNER, the train operator, has warned passengers not to travel north of Newcastle on Monday as a result of the forecast.
Those intending to travel on Monday can do so on Sunday, the operator said, with tickets also valid until Wednesday.
Avanti West Coast advised passengers not to travel north of Preston on Monday as it expects its Scottish-English routes to be 'heavily affected' by Storm Floris.
The operator said services will probably be impacted in Lancaster, Oxenholme, Penrith, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Haymarket, Glasgow Central and Edinburgh.
Tickets dated for Monday for these areas will be accepted on Sunday and Tuesday, it added.
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