Urgent travel warning issued as Storm Babet brings heavy rain and flooding alert to Greater Manchester

An urgent travel warning has been issued as Storm Babet brings a heavy rain and flooding alert to much of the UK, including in Greater Manchester.

Rail passengers across Network Rail’s North West routes are being warned of possible travel disruption over the coming days as Storm Babet impacts the railway.

Extreme weather action teams are on standby to tackle any problems caused by the stormy weather along the West Coast main line, North West and Cumbrian rail routes over the coming days, including monitoring areas that could see flash flooding of the tracks or trees being blown down.

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Passengers travelling by rail have now been urged to check before they do during Storm Babet, with disruption, such as delays or cancellations likely due to the heavy rain and strong winds forecast until the weekend.

With the storm set to intensify over the coming days, people living by the railway in the north west are also being advised to tether down any loose items in their gardens like furniture, fencing and trampolines which can be blown onto tracks by gale-force winds.

The Met Office has issued an upgraded weather warning for the Greater Manchester region, with heavy rain expected to arrive. An amber warning for rain will come into force at midday tomorrow (October 20) and last until 6am on Saturday. The Met Office says areas covered by the warning should expect 'persistent heavy rain' with the 'likelihood of some flooding and disruption'.

Heavy winds caused a tree to fall onto the tracks along the Glossop line in Broadbottom in Tameside on Wednesday (October