National Rail formally cleared its nationwide ‘wintry weather’ incident at 09:49 on 12 January after 11 days of rolling speed restrictions, short-formed trains and route closures caused by Storm Goretti’s snow and 100 mph winds. The operator said services across England, Scotland and Wales were now running to the published timetable, although minor crew and stock dislocations would continue through the Monday evening peak.
Over the preceding week the storm forced the cancellation of hundreds of services on upland sections of the West Coast and Highland main lines, while ice accretions on overhead wires hit electrified commuter routes into London and Manchester. The impact was aggravated by concurrent Sunday industrial action at Avanti West Coast and a freight derailment near Crewe.
![National Rail Lifts Storm Goretti Disruption Notice but Urges Travellers to Build Resilience Plans]()
Network Rail’s rapid-response teams cleared 350 fallen trees and deployed ‘ghost trains’ to keep critical corridors open. Business-travel managers praised the real-time disruption feed and the temporary acceptance of Anytime tickets on alternative operators, but called for faster refund processing.
For business travellers whose disrupted rail itineraries spill over into international journeys, VisaHQ can help ensure that sudden schedule changes don’t lead to missed visa deadlines. Its UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) offers expedited processing and live status updates for more than 200 destinations, providing a convenient safety net whenever extreme weather throws travel plans off course.
With the Met Office now warning of flooding from rapid snow-melt, National Rail advised companies using season-ticket loans to remind staff of the Business Continuity Compensation scheme, which allows delayed travellers to claim partial refunds when monthly punctuality drops below contractual thresholds.
Over the preceding week the storm forced the cancellation of hundreds of services on upland sections of the West Coast and Highland main lines, while ice accretions on overhead wires hit electrified commuter routes into London and Manchester. The impact was aggravated by concurrent Sunday industrial action at Avanti West Coast and a freight derailment near Crewe.
Network Rail’s rapid-response teams cleared 350 fallen trees and deployed ‘ghost trains’ to keep critical corridors open. Business-travel managers praised the real-time disruption feed and the temporary acceptance of Anytime tickets on alternative operators, but called for faster refund processing.
For business travellers whose disrupted rail itineraries spill over into international journeys, VisaHQ can help ensure that sudden schedule changes don’t lead to missed visa deadlines. Its UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) offers expedited processing and live status updates for more than 200 destinations, providing a convenient safety net whenever extreme weather throws travel plans off course.
With the Met Office now warning of flooding from rapid snow-melt, National Rail advised companies using season-ticket loans to remind staff of the Business Continuity Compensation scheme, which allows delayed travellers to claim partial refunds when monthly punctuality drops below contractual thresholds.
