A TRAIN firm is warning customers to plan carefully for travel today (November 27) due to the poor weather in the north of England and Scotland during Storm Arwen.

TransPennine Express (TPE) services south of Newcastle, and across the remainder of the train operators’ network, will run as scheduled, though there is the potential for delays and disruption on all routes due to high winds. This morning, TPE’s Darlington to Manchester Airport services will start/terminate from York.

Kathryn O’Brien, customer experience director for TPE, said: “We are expecting extremely difficult travel conditions, but will do all we can to keep our customers on the move where travel is possible.

“However, customers should be aware that disruption may be widespread and, with Network Rial having imposed speed restrictions across much of the rail network, delays and cancellations are likely on all routes.

“With other operators impacted by the adverse weather we’re expecting our services to be extremely busy this weekend and are asking customers to plan ahead carefully and allow additional time for their journeys.

“We’re also giving our customers the opportunity to defer their journeys and any tickets already purchased will be valid on our services up to and including Monday (November 29).”

TPE services to and from Edinburgh on the East Coast Mainline will also be cancelled on Sunday (November 28) as the line is expected to remain closed to allow repair and recovery work to take place.

While travel is possible on cross-Pennine routes (between Liverpool, Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds, York, Middlesbrough and Scarborough) customers are being asked to check before they travel and to allow additional time for journeys as further disruption is possible.

For the most up-to-date travel information visit the TPE website or National Rail Enquires. Alternatively, follow @TPEassist on Twitter.