London snow: Weather brings transport to a standstill

The cold weather caused chaos in the capital

Overnight snow and freezing temperatures have caused major disruption to London's transport.

Flights at Heathrow, Gatwick and City airports were affected by both delays and dozens of cancellations.

All London Underground lines, apart from the Waterloo & City, experienced issues as staff dealt with the impact of the weather.

Train services on Southeastern, South Western Railway, Greater Anglia and East Midlands Railway remain disrupted.

• In pictures: London wakes up to a carpet of snow

Tracks used for Tube services in Willesden Green, north-west London, were covered with snow

Motorists have been urged to check before they travel

Network Rail said hundreds of staff armed with specialist kit were defrosting frozen points and signals, and trains with snow ploughs were being used to clear tracks.

On the Underground there is currently disruption on the following lines:

• Central: Severe delays due to loss of power caused by heavy snow and ice

• Jubilee: Severe delays due to an earlier signal failure

• Overground: No service between Watford Junction and Willesden Junction. Minor delays between Euston and Willesden Junction due to heavy snow and ice on the track

Many other lines experienced varying levels of delays throughout Monday.

All lanes have now reopened on the M25 between junctions 23 and 25, although the area was left heavily congested. Overnight, it was closed clockwise at Potters Bar to recover a number of lorries, leaving some drivers stranded for hours.

Analysis

By Tom Edwards, BBC London transport correspondent

The problem is London's - and the UK's - transport network is not designed for extremes of weather and significant snowfall.

Points freeze up and many trains use the third rail for electricity which is on the ground. Staff also struggle to get to stations.

Another example - engineering work out in Royston on Sunday overran as the materials they were using froze solid, which meant many trains on Thameslink had already been cancelled.

Networks can be made more resilient to these extremes but it all costs a lot of money.

This week is particularly grim for travellers with rail strikes also planned from Tuesday.

The weather did not stop some from taking their morning dip in the Serpentine

People walk through the snow in Greenwich Park

A weather warning has been issued until Tuesday

Richmond Park was covered in snow

Other roads impacted included the A232, A406 North Circular and the A10 in Enfield.

The AA has advised motorists to adjust their driving to the freezing conditions.

London City Airport said it had experienced "some disruption" due to aircraft being out of position following the "significant amount of cancellations" on Sunday night, while Gatwick Airport and Heathrow Airport also warned some flights could be delayed or cancelled.

A yellow weather warning for snow and ice, which remains in place until 11:00 GMT on Tuesday, has been issued by the Met Office.

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