Storm Éowyn: Disruption on rail line between Lichfield and Birmingham in aftermath of high winds
The rail line between Lichfield Trent Valley and Birmingham New Street faced hours of disruption in the aftermath of high winds brought on by Storm Éowyn.
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West Midlands Railway first alerted customers to problems on the Cross City North line at about 6am on Saturday (January 25).
The disruption had been caused by damage to the overhead electric wires.
Writing to its website, National Rail said: "Damage to the overhead electric wires between Birmingham New Street and Lichfield Trent Valley means all lines are blocked. As a result, trains may be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised.
"Rail replacement transport is in operation between Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield Trent Valley in both directions.
"To assist you with your journey your ticket will be accepted at no extra cost on: CrossCountry services between Birmingham New Street and Tamworth / Stafford, National Express West Midlands between Birmingham New Street and Lichfield Trent Valley in both directions."
West Midlands Railway updated passengers to X, formerly Twitter, at about 10.30am to say the rail line had reopened.
However, just after 12.30pm, it said services had once again been suspended on the line, with problems still ongoing with the overhead wires.
In a later update just after 3pm, the regional rail operator said the disruption had ended.
Network Rail warned passengers of possible issues on the line on Friday evening.
Posting to X, Network Rail Birmingham New Street wrote: "The impacts from Storm Éowyn have been felt across the network today.
"Our teams are working hard to remove fallen trees and repair overhead lines between Wolverhampton and Stafford and Birmingham New Street and Lichfield Trent Valley ready for the start of service tomorrow."
It comes after the West Midlands was hit with high winds on Friday, with a yellow weather warning issued for the region by the Met Office.
It resulted in flights departing from Birmingham Airport to Scotland and Ireland being cancelled and disruption on the roads as a number of trees fell.
A second yellow weather warning for ice covering parts of the West Midlands including the Black Country was in place until 10am on Saturday.
The Met Office warned there could be icy stretches which would lead to "hazardous conditions" and possible icy patches on some roads, pavements and cycle paths.
