The rear boot of a submerged car is seen on the A421 dual carriageway road after it was flooded following heavy rain in Bedfordshire.
The A421 in Bedfordshire is still closed due to flooding for a second day (Picture: Toby Melville/Reuters)

Commuters are waking up to travel misery this morning as the ongoing effects of heavy rain and flooding extend to a second day.

The A421 in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire is still closed due to flooding blocking the road in both directions.

This is having a knock-on effect on the A5, which is also blocked on its northbound carriageway.

Yesterday saw railway lines flooded up and down the UK as huge swathes of the country were impacted by an amber weather warning for rain.

A driver had to be rescued from their flooded car in Wallington, south London, while parts of the London Underground and Overground were suspended due to the flooding.


  • 2h ago


    Flights cancelled at Heathrow


    • Severe delays on the London Underground

    The London Underground coped well through the morning rush hour, but now Elizabeth and Victoria lines are disrupted.

    • Elizabeth line – Serious delays between Shenfield and Whitechapel due repairs to fix a failed signal system
    • Victoria line – Severe delays due to an earlier faulty train at Highbury & Islington. Passengers can use tickets on the Overground, Great Northern, Thameslink, Greater Anglia, SWR and Southeastern trains

    Delays at Gatwick Airport today

    The UK’s second busiest airport appears to have no cancellations so far today, but there are delays.

    Here are the departing flights that were listed as delayed.

    • Iberia/EasyJet/Vueling/British Airways at 9.10am to Barcelona
    • EasyJet at 9.10am to Palma de Mallorca
    • British Airways at 9.25am to Dublin
    • EasyJet at 9.55am to Faro
    • British Airways at 11.15am to Izmir 
    • British Airways at 1.35pm to Antalya
    • EasyJet at 3.15pm to Enfidha

    The entrance to Departures at Gatwick Airport South Terminal.
    Gatwick passengers have been spared any major cancellations and delays – but there are some (Picture: Yau Ming Low/Getty Images)

    Flights cancelled at Heathrow


    A British Airways plane taking off and on the tarmac at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 runway.
    Some flights have been cancelled and delayed at Heathrow and Gatwick (Picture: Tolga Akmen/Getty Images)

    The London airports managed to avoid weather-related issues yesterday during heavy downpours.

    A handful of flights were axed at Heathrow yesterday, but these were unrelated to the weather.

    Here are the departing flights that appeared as cancelled on the Heathrow Airport departure board shortly before 9am.

    Cancellations at Heathrow

    • British Airways at 6.40am to Tel Aviv
    • British Airways at 7.40am to Bologna
    • KLM at 8.40am to Amsterdam
    • British Airways at 8.50am to Munich
    • British Airways at 9.20am to Milan
    • British Airways at 10.25am to Delhi
    • British Airways at 12.05pm to Brussels
    • British Airways at 12.20pm to Milan
    • United Airlines at 12.20pm to San Francisco
    • Virgin Atlantic at 12.45pm to Seattle
    • British Airways 4.30pm to Rome
    • British Airways at 5.15pm to Edinburgh
    • British Airways at 6.15pm to Glasgow

    Have you been affected? Please email noora.mykkanen@metro.co.uk – we’re keen to hear from you.

    Issues on CrossCountry and SWR trains after signal failure

    This is affecting CrossCountry and South Western Railway (SWR) trains between Bournemouth, London Waterloo and Manchester.

    The faulty signal system was spotted between Basingstoke and Winchester.

    As a result, trains might be cancelled, revised or delayed by up to 30 minutes.

    And the disruption is not expected to clear anytime soon – National Rail estimates it could continue until 4pm.

    Here are the affected routes.

    • CrossCountry – Manchester Piccadilly / Birmingham New Street and Bournemouth
    • South Western Railway – Basingstoke and Bournemouth, between Winchester and Southampton Central / Bournemouth / Poole, and also between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour / Southampton Central / Bournemouth / Weymouth

    Freight train blocks tracks at Hackney Wick

    Commuters were left frustrated at Hackney Wick, east London, after a freight train blocked the tracks at peak rush hour.

    Footage shows the container freight train sitting on the tracks on platform two this morning.

    An eyewitness said all trains going east were delayed because the container train was sat on the tracks for 20 minutes.


    Container train at Hackney Wick on platform.
    A container train wreaked havoc at Hackney Wick (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

    Signalling fault disrupts trains between Romford and London Liverpool Street

    Another signalling issue has hit the railway network – this time at Maryland, east London.

    Unfortunately for passengers, Elizabeth line on the London Underground and Greater Anglia trains could be cancelled, delayed by up to 25 minutes or revised.

    At the moment, the disruption is expected to clear just after rush hour at 9.30am.

    The rest of the Elizabeth line has good service.

    Rush hour delays at Blackwall Tunnel

    Drivers heading to Blackwall Tunnel should allow extra time and patience after a warning over long delays.

    Traffic analyst Inrix says the A102 northbound before the tunnel has heavy congestion, stretching to the A2 into Blackheath.

    Traffic appears to move slowly in both Blackwall Tunnel South and North.

    Heavy flooding blocks train tracks in Oxfordshire

    Train lines towards London from Banbury and Bicester North are blocked after heavy flooding.

    This means commuters on Chiltern Railways face delays of up to half an hour, cancellations or diversions.

    Trains towards London will skip Bicester North, so passengers should travel from Bicester Village instead, National Rail said.

    The disruption is expected to last until 12 midday, but this might be revised.

    Passengers can use their tickets on Great Western Railway between Banbury and London.

    The affected routes are Birmingham Snow Hill / Birmingham Moor Street / Banbury and London Marylebone.

    Flooding disrupting trains between Rugby and Milton Keynes

    This is affecting all Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway services running between Rugby and Milton Keynes.

    The disruption is set to last throughout the rush hour period, and is predicted to end at around 10am.

    National Rail has provided advice for people hoping to travel to or through these stations this morning:

    Avanti West Coast

    You can use your ticket to travel on the following service at no extra cost:

    • CrossCountry, London North Eastern Railway, London Northwestern Railway and TransPennine Trains via any reasonable.
    • Great Western Railway and Northern via any reasonable route.

    London Northwestern Railway

    • You may use your ticket on Avanti West Coast services via any reasonable route.
    • Rail replacement transport (supplied via Stagecoach) is operating between Northampton and Milton Keynes Central via Wolverton.

    Flooding causes disruption between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings

    Yesterday’s flooding is still having an impact in Kent and Sussex. Part of the signalling system failed near Wadhurst after heavy rain partially flooded the railway.

    Repairs weren’t completed overnight, so Southeastern’s Hastings line won’t be able to run a full service until the end of the day.

    An hourly train will run between Hastings and Tonbridge all day today, but services could still be cancelled, delayed by up to 45 minutes, or changed.

    London Underground updates

    The Tube is currently running fairly smoothly this morning, with just some minor delays on three lines.

    The Hammersmith & City and Circle lines are both facing minor delays due to a signalling problem in the Hammersmith area.

    Meanwhile the District line is also facing minor delays between Earl’s Court and Wimbledon after a signal failure at East Putney.

    TfL says there’s good service on the rest of the District line.

    Disruption in south London after points failure near London Bridge


    Mandatory Credit: Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock (14240030j) A passenger waits on a train at London Bridge station as a nine days of disruption for rail passengers has begun across Britain due to overtime ban and strike actions taking place between 01 to 09 December, in London, Britain, 01 December 2023. The members of ASLEF train drivers union have voted overwhelmingly to continue strike action for the next six months in their ongoing dispute over pay. Train drivers union Aslef have voted to continue strike action, London, United Kingdom - 01 Dec 2023
    Bad news for Thameslink users (Picture: TOLGA AKMEN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

    Thameslink trains running between Rainham and Luton are currently disrupted, and the points failure is expected to keep causing issues until 9am.

    Thameslink services that would normally run between Rainham and Luton, via London Bridge, will be reduced.

    They will now operate a shuttle service between Rainham and Dartford.

    Journey planners are being updated right now, so short notice service alterations will be taking place.


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