Travel news - live: London Underground suffers delays and suspensions on all but two lines amid Storm Eunice

West Midlands Railway (WMR) has issued a “do not travel” warning for Friday as it says there will be a “significantly reduced” service amid concerns over Storm Eunice.

The operator has said, however, that pre-booked tickets for the date would be valid on Thursday and Saturday.

“Storm Eunice is expected to be one of the biggest storms in recent years and we expect significant disruption to train services,” Jonny Wiseman, WMR customer experience director, said.

“The message to our customers is clear – do not use the train on Friday. Customers with tickets for travel on Friday will be able to travel today and Saturday instead.”

Here’s an hour-by-hour look at Storm Eunice’s expected progress today, courtesy of Joe Sommerlad:

First Bus, which runs many services in Bristol and surroundings, has cancelled buses on a wide range of routes for Friday morning.

Buses in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Wells will be suspended until at least 1pm.

This includes Metrobus, Bristol Park & Ride and Airport Flyer services.

“We will continue to run a limited service in Bath City,” First says. “But the following services will be suspended: 19, 31 (Lansdown P&R), 39, X39, 171, 172, 173, 174, D1, D2, OS1 and U5.”

In his daily travel podcast, The Independent’s travel correspondent explains why a 50mph speed limit has been imposed across much of the rail network. Experience shows that debris falling onto the tracks presents a threat, and so trains slow down.

In Wales, all trains will be cancelled and ferries will also be affected.

You can listen to the podcast here.

LNER, which runs most of the trains on the flagship East Coast main line, has made an appeal to passengers not to travel on Friday 18 February – and says anyone with a ticket for that date can use it on another day, up to and including next Tuesday.

The state-owned train operator said: “StormEunice is expected to bring severe weather, which is likely to cause significant disruption to our services.

“Please DO NOT TRAVEL.  Tickets dated for 18 February will be permitted for travel on 19, 20, 21, and 22 February.”

Rail services across Greater Anglia – which links Essex, Suffolk and Norwich with London Liverpool Street – will be cut sharply on Friday 18 February because of forecast high winds.

The Stansted Express airport service will run every half-hour, rather than the normal 15 minute service. The main Norwich-Ipswich-Colchester-London link will be hourly, and branch lines including Norwich to Sheringham and Ipswich to Lowestoft will run every two hours.

“Customers who have booked tickets for travel on Friday 18 February can use them on another day,” says Greater Anglia.

Ellie Burrows, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia, said: “We will be doing everything we can to keep as many services as possible running safely and reliably, but with such strong winds expected we know that disruption to passengers’ journeys is inevitable.

“We ask passengers to please consider whether your journey is necessary.”

The London Eye and River Cruise have both announced that they will close tomorrow due to bad weather.

“Due to severe weather disruption the London Eye and River Cruise has taken the difficult decision to close tomorrow (Fri 18 Feb). The safety of our guests is our number one priority and we apologise for any inconvenience caused. Please follow us here for updates,” read a statement from the London Eye.

Kew Gardens also announced it would close on Friday - when London is predicted to see winds of up to 90mph - as did Legoland Windsor.

Legoland has said it will contact customers booked to visit on 18 February.

“If you're due to visit we'll be in touch to discuss re-booking. We apologise for the disappointment and look forward to welcoming you back soon,” it posted on Twitter.

Northern has added to the chorus of train operators advising Britons not to use the rail network tomorrow.

“Due to the approaching #StormEunice we are advising customers NOT TO TRAVEL tomorrow, Friday 18 February, between 09:00 and 21:00,” the company posted on Twitter.

“Tickets will be valid today or on Saturday. Refunds are also available via the point of purchase.”

They are reminding customers to check their website updates before travel into the weekend.

As storms rage, Australia prepares to reopen to tourists and long-haul becomes a possibility again The Independent’s travel expert, Simon Calder, will be on hand this afternoon to answer your burning travel questions.

While news of countries easing entry requirements breaks daily, complex rules on testing – and flight connections – remain.

The largest state down under, Western Australia, is keeping its frontiers closed for now; while in the past week France, Spain, Norway and Switzerland have all reduced their barriers to travel.

So what do these changes mean for your future plans?

Join Simon at 4pm today as he answers as many questions as possible, live, in an hour.

Submit your question in the comments section of this article:

Loganair, the UK’s biggest regional airline, is telling passengers: “We plan to fly all our scheduled services, and we have standby aircraft and crews in place to help recover any disrupted services as soon as reasonably possible once weather conditions permit.”

But, it says: “In view of the forecasted high winds on Friday 18 February across England, Ireland and Wales and potential for travel disruption, we are offering customers travelling on this day the opportunity to adjust travel plans without charge.”

Passengers can re-book on an alternative flight up to a week from the original travel date.

“There will be no change fee or difference in fare payable’,” the airline says. “If there is a seat available on an earlier or later flight, you can transfer your booking to that flight without charge on a first-come, first-served basis.”