Just days after a power outage caused significant inconvenience, some of the coldest weather of the winter so far affected travel in Britain, France, and the Netherlands yesterday, closing roads, grounding aircraft, and forcing train cancellations, including on Eurostar.
According to AFP, Eurostar, which connects the UK to the European mainland, advised travelers between London and the Netherlands to reschedule their trips because Dutch weather prevented services from operating past Brussels.
Following an electrical outage that left thousands of passengers stuck and even detained for the night on a train without power, rail movement through the Channel Tunnel had only resumed on New Year’s Eve.
“Traffic is suspended in the Netherlands today due to expected adverse weather conditions,” Eurostar stated in a live service update, advising impacted travelers not to report to the station.
The schedule showed that most trains were delayed and six trains between London St Pancras International and Paris Gare du Nord were cancelled.
In the meantime, snowploughs were sent out by British railway authorities in Scotland to attempt to clean lines that were damaged by heavy snowfall yesterday morning, which reached as much as 52 centimetres (20 inches) in Tomintoul, near Inverness in northeastern Scotland.
Services were badly affected on Monday, particularly in the Amsterdam area, according to NS Dutch Railways, and fewer trains would operate in various areas of the nation today.
The UK Met Office warned that cold weather health advisories would be in effect until Friday and issued new weather warnings for snow and ice for Scotland, Northern Ireland, and portions of northern England yesterday and today.
The inconvenience comes after the UK had a recent cold snap.
On Sunday night, temperatures in the high slopes of Shap, Cumbria, northwest England, fell as low as -10.9 °C.
According to the Met Office, “temperatures will once again fall below freezing for much of the country overnight into Tuesday, with the lowest temperatures overlying snow possibly dipping to -12C.”
According to the authorities, 212 schools in Northern Ireland were closed yesterday, and numerous schools in Scotland, Wales, and northern England were also closed.
Grounded
Belfast in Northern Ireland, Aberdeen and Inverness in northeast Scotland, and Liverpool in northwest England were among the airports where flights were canceled.
Heavy snowfall at France’s main Paris airports, Charles de Gaulle and Orly, led airlines to cut back on flights by 15%.
At a news conference, French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot stated that there would probably be “cancellations and some delays” and that some 250 snowploughs were on standby at the two airports.
Over half of the 700 planes that were supposed to depart or land yesterday were canceled at Schiphol, the Netherlands’ biggest international airport.
The airport authorities indicated that less traffic was anticipated for the remainder of the day and that further cancellations will be necessary in the upcoming days due to the winter weather.
The bus system in Paris was disrupted yesterday afternoon by snow and ice, and the French capital’s highways, especially those in the northwest Normandy region, were severely impacted by lengthy rush-hour tailbacks.
The weather service Yesterday evening, Meteo France issued the second-highest warning, an orange alert, for snow and ice throughout parts of northwest France, including Paris.
With the mercury just above freezing early today, it predicted below-freezing temperatures into the evening and overnight.
Due to the dangerous conditions, the police in Scotland advised drivers not to attempt to drive through restricted roads.
According to the AA, the UK’s roadside assistance service, callouts have increased by 40% when compared to a normal Monday.
Yesterday’s weather kept Belfast Zoo closed, and warnings about snow, ice, or cold temperatures were issued throughout neighboring Ireland.
About the Author
