Severe rail disruption, flood warning and alerts

Rail passengers have been told to check before they travel in the face of a flood warning and several alerts in place across Berkshire in the aftermath of Storm Bert.

The flood warning affects properties closest to the River Kennet in the Burghfield, Southcote, Coley and Holybrook areas, near Reading, with at least nine flood alerts in place across the county.

Great Western Railway (GWR) said on Monday morning more than 16 floods across its network had severely delayed trains in Berkshire.

It later said lines were blocked between Newbury Racecourse and Plymouth and people hoping to travel between the two should not try.

It also said there was a limited service running to and from the racecourse along other lines.

GWR's head of communications, Dan Panes, said branch lines - the line to Henley for example - were running but difficulties outside of the Thames Valley were making onward travel more challenging.

"If you're trying to get to somewhere on [branch] lines that makes sense, but if you're trying to use those lines to, for example, get into London or further west say than Swindon, we're just not going to be able to get you there at the moment," he said.

"We can run trains until that floodwater gets above the height of a rail, because at that point you've got the risk of the ballast that holds the track in place washing away," he said.

"Colleagues at Network Rail are doing their best [to] make it safe for trains to run again, but it is problematic now."

Across the UK, more than 150 flood warnings are in force.

Hannah Cloke, a professor of hydrology at the University of Reading, said Berkshire was not "in such a serious position" as some other parts of the UK.

"But there is a lot of water around, we do have a few properties underwater, low-lying land underwater, and that will continue at least today," she said.

She added people needed to remain vigilant and keep across Environment Agency flood warnings later in the week, when more rain could fall.

"There's no space for that rainfall," she said.

"That could lead to further flooding."

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