Storm Boelo damage still disrupting Northern rail routes a day after high winds hit Sheffield area

Train passengers travelling to and from Sheffield were being advised to check their journeys on Monday as the effects of Storm Boelo continued to disrupt services, according to The Star [1]. Yellow weather warnings covering Sheffield and the north of England were in place on Sunday 25 October as the storm brought winds of between 55 and 65mph, the newspaper reported [1]. Although no warnings remained in force on Monday 26 October, damage to overhead wiring caused by the storm was still causing problems across the rail network, according to the report [1]. Train operator Northern issued a series of disruption warnings affecting major routes out of Leeds and York, with connecting services through Leeds to destinations including Halifax being cancelled, The Star said [1]. While no disruptions out of Sheffield itself had been reported at the time of writing, the knock-on effects on connecting routes were significant [1]. Separately, the theft of signalling cables was reported to be causing disruption on services between Sheffield and Adwick, and between Doncaster and Leeds, according to the newspaper [1]. That disruption was expected to be cleared by 9am, The Star reported [1]. Network Rail said its teams had been working overnight to fix a number of problems across the north of England and Scotland [1]. Chris Wright, Network Rail's North West route director, apologised for the disruption. "We're really sorry for the disruption to people's journeys today caused by Storm Boelo," he said, according to the report [1]. "Safety is our number one priority and we're working as fast as we can to assess the overnight damage, clear debris and reopen routes as best as possible," Wright added [1]. Wright urged passengers to check National Rail Enquiries and follow advice from their train operator, noting that weather conditions were changing quickly [1]. The Star also reported separately that a tree had crushed a car on a Sheffield road and that power outages had been recorded in the city as a result of the storm, along with the closure of the M1 near Sheffield in both directions to high-sided vehicles [1]. The newspaper's report did not specify a timeline for full restoration of services beyond the 9am clearance expected for the cable theft disruption between Sheffield and Adwick and Doncaster and Leeds [1]. Further details on the extent of damage to overhead wiring, or an estimated date for its repair, were not confirmed in the report [1].