All London Euston trains cancelled in day of rail Christmas chaos

Passengers travelling through London Euston station today faced significant disruption after strong winds caused damage to overhead wires.

Damage to the electric cables between Milton Keynes and Watford meant all lines between those stations were blocked, affecting Avanti West Coast services between London Euston and Scotland. All trains from Euston were cancelled while engineers assesed the damage.

TransPennine Express urged passengers to avoid travelling to or from Edinburgh all day on Thursday, and to only make journeys to and from Carlisle and Manchester, Liverpool and Preston after 3pm.

Passengers at Euston Station, London, as travellers get an early start to their Christmas journeys ahead of the weekend. (James Manning/PA Wire)

Passengers at Euston Station, London, as travellers get an early start to their Christmas journeys ahead of the weekend. Strong winds are disrupting the start of the Christmas getaway for millions of people. Train services across large parts of Britain are being affected by Storm Pia as fallen trees and other debris damage overhead power lines and block tracks. Picture date: Thursday December 21, 2023. — Passengers at Euston Station, London, as travellers get an early start to their Christmas journeys ahead of the weekend. (James Manning/PA Wire)

The RAC estimated 13.5m leisure journeys by car would take place across the UK between Friday and Sunday, up 20 per cent on the three days before Christmas Day last year.

Road congestion was likely to peak on Friday – the last working day before Christmas Day – as drivers embarking on leisure trips competed for road space with commuters and business traffic.

In a chaotic afternoon, surprise strikes at the Channel Tunnel cancelled all of Eurostar’s services to and from London, with disruption ongoing throughout the afternoon.