Storm hits rail and roads with worse to come

Winds of more than 80mph were recorded and forecasters said gales were set to return to the capital between 6pm and midnight.

Police warned travellers to use "extreme caution". Dave Britton, a Met Office forecaster, said: "We saw winds of 55mph at Heathrow this morning, but there are some very strong winds still to come.

"There will be another pulse of strong winds from 6pm this evening until around midnight, with speeds of 50mph in central London. We are also tracking a second area of extremely low pressure which looks set to hit on Wednesday morning."

The three major commuter train operators serving London - Southeastern, Southern and South West Trains - all said they would run as full a service as possible though warned of delays, particularly on longer distance routes to the Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and Dorset coasts.

A 50mph speed limit that had been imposed on rail services this morning was lifted at noon but could be reinstated if the winds strengthen.

Network Rail ordered the blanket limit to reduce the risk of injury or derailment caused by debris on the tracks. Two London commuter trains smashed into uprooted trees today.

First the 5.33am Ashford to Victoria hit a tree at Beckenham Junction, then the 7.50am Dover to Victoria smashed into another at Newington near Sittingbourne. There were no injuries.

King's Cross Tube station closed at the height of the rush hour because of a major signal failure, adding to commuters' misery.

A young woman was knocked out by an advertising hoarding as she waited for a train on the platform at West Hampstead's Thameslink station. The commuter, 23, was left unconscious for several moments andwas taken to the Royal Free Hospital. The Port of Dover was closed as mountainous seas made it unsafe to operate any Calais sailings, and an 11,000-tonne tanker was at risk of being swept on to the Isle of Wight when its rudder broke in 70mph winds.

BA grounded 91 flights in and out of Heathrow and Gatwick, and 10 inbound flights to Gatwick had to be diverted to other airports, including a Continental Airways service from New Jersey, which landed in Dublin instead.