U.K. Storm Desmond: Travel Chaos 'For Several Days'

David Cameron is to visit areas affected by flooding.

A major rail link between England and Scotland cut off by flooding, while motorists face delays as bridges are washed away.

Commuters are being warned that widespread disruption on key road and rail links in northwest England could last for several days - with bridges in Cumbria washed away by Storm Desmond and some major train lines under 8ft of floodwater.

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Services between Carlisle and Scotland have been cancelled for the whole day because of flooding and a landslip.

There are no plans to offer rail replacement services because of treacherous conditions on the roads.

Virgin has advised people to use services from London or Birmingham to Edinburgh via Newcastle.

Pictures have emerged which show the extent of flooding in Preston and Carlisle.




Closures On West Coast Main Line As 8ft Deep Floodwaters Submerge Carlisle

Network Rail engineers must wait for the water to recede from the tracks before they can repair and rebuild cabinets along the line which house "complex electrical equipment".

On Sunday, services connecting London Euston with Glasgow and Edinburgh were terminating at Preston, leaving hundreds stranded.

Speed restrictions are also in place across the railway network - which, when combined with last-minute alterations to timetables, make delays extremely likely.

It is hoped that long-distance West Coast services could resume by Wednesday, but there are warnings that further flooding is possible in the coming days.

A normal rail service is expected to run today on the East Coast Main Line, which also connects Scottish cities with London, but journeys with CrossCountry and Virgin East Coast are expected to be busier than normal.

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The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for the rest of the week and is forecasting a spell of "persistent, heavy rain" for northwest England and Scotland before Tuesday morning, a lot of which could fall on already saturated ground.

Motoring organisations say there has been a spike in the number of stranded motorists.

Cumbria Police has confirmed that three bridges have been "washed away" by the floods: the B5295 bridge at Braithwaite, Fitz Footbridge in Keswick, and Pooley Bridge in the Eden District.

A key bridge connecting Lancaster city centre with the M6 was set to remain closed until Monday afternoon at the earliest so safety inspections can take place.

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Lancaster train station has been closed because of a power cut, but is expected to have some rail services running during daylight hours.

Amid criticism over whether flood defences upgraded in 2010 were able to cope with Storm Desmond, Environment Secretary Liz Truss said the Government was delivering on its commitment to build 1,400 new flood defence schemes to better protect 300,000 homes in vulnerable area - the equivalent of £2.3bn in new investment.

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