Volcano closes air space

Rail network to stay open round the clock to help get people home

Wednesday, 21 April, 2010 13:14 GMT

Network Rail will be keeping the rail lines serving London 's airports open around the clock tonight to help get stranded air passengers home.

Weekend engineering work on the Anglo-Scottish routes - the east and west coast main lines - has also been cancelled to enable more direct services to run. Robin Gisby, director of operations and customer services, said: "We're working with the train operators and doing all we can to help get people home following the unprecedented air travel chaos.

"The main lines to Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports will be opened round the clock tonight in an effort to speed people on their way."

Network Rail and the train operators are working closely to run as many extra services as it can around the clock tonight from the London airports into central London. In addington, Liverpool Street , Victoria and Gatwick, some of Network Rail's, and the UK 's, biggest and busiest stations, will also stay open around the clock tonight.

Scores of extra staff at these stations will be drafted in to provide help and assistance to passengers. We're also talking to retailers at these stations about extending their opening hours to assist late arriving passengers.

The rail industry has already laid on tens of thousands of extra seats since the air travel restrictions started almost a week ago. Services from ports and on the West and East Coast Main Lines have been very busy and are expected to continue into the weekend.

Hi Jack ,
Just want to say welcome to the Worldwide forum , and hope to see you posting often .

People living near the airports have had several nights of good sleep. Now they are going to have nights of no sleep at all. We really do have to face the bad effects of flying. Today the sky over Dorset is full of linear clouds and I think my solar water heater is performing less well than two days ago.

I want to see compensation for loss of solar energy. Eventually that should result in flying being cheaper over sea and more expensive over land. Airports should be near the sea with high speed rail for landward transport.

I only experienced the west London noise on one occasion when I was staying one night there a few years ago. I am used to living in a fairly quiet area of the country and being woken sometimes by bird song. In west London the planes start coming in about 4.30. After that I found sleep impossible.

I only fly over water, never to anywhere in Europe. (Well, I used to fly to Africa and the Middle East for employment).

The Volcano has not stopped. In fact some reports suggest it is getting more vigorous. Today air space over Ireland and the western Isles of Scotland was closed for a few hours (trapping the Tory leader in Belfast for a while). Flights are said to have resumed in the afternoon.

The last time I was in Belfast I left at 6-30 on the bus to the ferry. Then bus to Carlisle and train home (through train Carlisle to Southampton and change to Southwest Trains for Bournemouth). I was at home in southern England by the late evening. That was about 2002 and fares have risen a lot since then. I would probably have to book ahead these days to get an affordable fare.

David Benton wrote:Hi Jack ,
Just want to say welcome to the Worldwide forum , and hope to see you posting often .

Thanks David.