UK: Snow causes more travel disruption

[John Ashworth]

Snow causes more travel disruption as Labour urges ministers to 'get a grip'

• Gatwick remains shut with key rail routes closed
• Services 'overwhelmed' by heavy snow, says expert

* Dan Milmo and Andrew Culf
* guardian.co.uk, Thursday 2 December 2010 18.38 GMT

Motorists, rail commuters and air passengers endured another day of travel chaos, as Gatwick, Britain's second biggest airport, remained shut for another day and key rail routes were closed.

The government was accused of complacency with Labour urging it to "get a grip" on the widespread transport paralysis amid claims the disruption was costing £1.2bn a day. Philip Hammond, the transport secretary, said lessons would be learned and that an urgent review would be completed before Christmas.

The transport expert leading the review, David Quarmby, said the heaviest snowfall for this time of year since 1965 had overwhelmed local authorities, train operators and airport owners. "It is unreasonable to expect that you can clear it all in 24 hours flat," said Quarmby, chairman of the RAC Foundation.

However, he had sympathy for commuters in south-east England who have borne the brunt of the rail disruption, saying that passengers had suffered because communications "do not seem quite as joined up as I expected". Tonight Hammond wrote to train operators warning that there were no excuses for failing to get information to stranded commuters.

Gatwick will remain closed until at least 6am to morrowdespite workers clearing more than 100,000 tonnes of snow. Gatwick's chairman, Sir David Rowlands, said the airport had been stuck under an extreme weather system for 48 hours. He added that the snowed-in state of nearby road and rail links also played a part.

City airport in London reopened this afternoon, but Edinburgh airport and Southampton airport remained shut until the evening. The UK's largest airport, Heathrow, had more than 200 cancellations due to closures elsewhere in the UK and Europe but still operated more than 1,000 flights. Stansted had just eight cancellations.

Train companies in the south-east were struggling to cope with the conditions in Britain's commuter heartlands. Southern, the London-to-Brighton operator, said most of its services were suspended, and Southeastern, paralysed by snowfall in Kent, suspended its main routes into London with more delays and cancellations expected today.

Scotrail, CrossCountry, East Coast and East Midlands trains also suffered delays and cancellations, as the Association of Train Operating Companies said three out 10 of rail services were cancelled across the UK. Despite reduced timetables, only 60% of services arrived on time. An ATOC spokesman said train operators were working with Passenger Focus, the rail user watchdog, and the rail regulator to improve communication. "We recognise that it is an area where we have to get better."