Train lines between Sheffield and Stockport have seen disruptions this morning caused by a fallen tree on the tracks.
East Midlands Railways have since confirmed their services are resuming, after the tree and debris were cleared from the tracks.
However, they noted that further delays and cancellations are to be expected as a result of the earlier disruptions and customers should be wary.
The tree seemed to have fallen across only one side of the tracks, as they originally announced that while all services outbound from Sheffield were cancelled, services from Stockport to Sheffield remained operational but reduced.
The incident comes off the back of the harsh conditions of Storm Otto as it continues to wreak havoc across the country.
The Met Office announced a yellow weather warning for the storm, with risks of infrastructure damage and hazardous debris.
Following this there have been reports of closures of roads around Sheffield due to build-ups of debris.
Police have also announced someone has been taken to hospital with serious injuries following the collapse of a tree.
Daniel, a passenger who travelled from Norfolk to Sheffield with plans to interchange onto a train to Manchester spoke to ShefNews at Sheffield station.
He said he planned to attend a stag do later that day, but disruptions to travel meant his plans looked in serious jeopardy.
Speaking on the disruptions and unreliability of rail travel, he said: “I’m a bit annoyed, but what can you do? If there’s a tree on the line, there’s a tree on the line.”
He also mentioned he had no travel back-up plans, but East Midlands Railways announced shortly after that some rail replacement buses were running.
Another customer, who wished to remain anonymous, was planning to travel to Liverpool to see his parents.
Speaking on the disruptions to his travels, he said: “I’m not too disheartened to be honest. A refund would be welcomed, though.”
East Midlands Railway have since shared links on their twitter page to their Delay Repay scheme, found here, where customers who have been delayed by 15 minutes or more can claim compensation.
These disruptions follow several instances of travel disruptions over the past months related to strike action by members of the RMT union, as well as years of pressure from customers criticising the price and reliability of journeys by rail.
Further disruptions are also on the horizon as new strike dates have been set spanning across March and April.
