Rail passengers urged to plan ahead as Leeds braced for Storms Austen and Boelo

Rail passengers are being urged to plan ahead as Leeds braces itself for the first two named storms of the season.

Storm Austen and Storm Boelo are due to blow in over the next 48 hours with National Rail issuing travel warnings for passengers and reporting disruption.

Leeds - York via Harrogate - some services will be revised and will either not call at Weeton or Headingley in both directions today while some services on Leeds to Chester will be revised and will not call at Bramley, in this direction only.

A yellow weather warning for strong winds across England and Wales for most of the day has been issued by the Met Office while forcasters have also issued a yellow weather warning for strong winds across northern England from Saturday evening until late Sunday evening.

National Rail have issued this travel advice - please check your entire journey before you travel. When using the National Rail real-time Journey Planner, please take note of any service updates that may be showing with a warning triangle on your journey.

The forecasted weather may cause trains to be disrupted:

* High winds can mean trains have to run at slower speeds than usual to operate safely.

* Strong winds can also bring down trees and other debris that blocks tracks and damages power lines.

* Heavy rainfall can cause flooding that results in tracks being underwater and embankments being damaged

* Flooding can affect points, which allow trains to move from one line to another, and electrical systems.

Ticket flexibility

If your train is cancelled, you will be able to travel on an alternative service operated by any other participating train company, either two hours before or two hours after the original departure time of the cancelled service, in order to reach your destination. If you decide not to travel or cannot complete your journey due to cancellations, you are entitled to a full refund from your original point of sale.

For further information and guidance please contact your train company or speak to a member of railway staff.

Check before you travel

You can check your journey for today using the National Rail real-time Journey Planner.

Compensation

You may be entitled to compensation if you experience a delay in completing your journey today. Please keep your train ticket and make a note of your journey, as both will be required to support any claim.