Worcester operators battle through floods

Operators in Worcester (First, Astons and LMS) are working hard to maintain services throughout the city despite flooding, B&CB’s West Midlands-based Features Writer, David Cole, reports.

The county town is situated on the river Severn, which broke its banks in several places due to the effects of Storm Henk. Some flood warnings are still in place today (4 January).

Cross-river traffic over the Severn was down to a single lane in each direction in the city, with normally one-way streets being used bi-directionally. The dip in the exit from Worcester bus station filled with water yesterday after the sandbag line was overwhelmed. A lorry-load of reinforcements were delivered to stem the inflow to enable the exit pool to be pumped out.

Picture captured by David Cole

As well as the floods, delay on Worcester roads is also being caused by a series of temporary traffic lights.

Worcester has seen worse flooding impact bus services. In the wake of Storm Dennis in February 2020, both bridges over the Severn were inaccessible, cutting the city in half. To link up the city again, the council put in place a shuttle service of high-floor coaches with ferry lifts up over the city centre bridge and through flooding elsewhere, provided by Astons Coaches. A similar operation was in place during flooding in 2014.

Buses have been affected by flooding across the country, with services in Haverfordwest and Tenby disrupted, along with Pembrokeshire and Nottinghamshire routes.