SEVERE disruption affected the transport network in Bradford today as the district felt the effects of Storm Ophelia.

Trees were uprooted and fell onto railway tracks, causing major delays and cancellations to train services into Bradford Interchange.

Trees came down blocking tracks at Hipperholme, between Hebden Bridge and Bradford, and the stormy weather also caused a landslip.

Trains had to be cancelled or diverted until this evening, causing chaos on the rail network during the morning rush hour and much of the day, with a knock-on effect to the district’s roads, with more traffic causing congestion and delays.

Northern, which operates the rail service between Bradford and Halifax, as well as services to Manchester Victoria and Leeds, requested replacement bus services to help its customers on their journeys, but were met with further problems when coach companies reported poor road and driving conditions, with several roads affected by fallen trees. Many trains had to be diverted to Brighouse, while more were cancelled altogether.  A spokesman for Network Rail said the work to remove the tree from the tracks had proved difficult due to the precarious way the tree had fallen.

A branch had reportedly got stuck in the ground, making the removal more difficult to avoid the tree falling further onto the tracks.

She said: “Shortly after 11pm on Monday, a train driver reported that they had struck a tree on the line between Halifax and Bradford.

“Both railway lines were initially blocked. Network Rail workers were on-site today working to remove the tree. One line was re-opened to trains at around 4pm.

“Diversions and bus replacement services were in operation and passengers were advised to check before they travel.  “We would like to apologise to anyone who experienced disruption as a result of this incident.”

The district was battered by high winds on Monday night and in the early hours of Tuesday as Storm Ophelia made its way further north through the night.

Gusts of up to 54 miles per hour were recorded overnight as the storm moved from Ireland towards Scotland, with much of northern England feeling the effects.

A yellow weather warning for wind was in force for the district from 6am until shortly before midday today.

As well as affecting rail and road services, the Met Office warned some damage may be caused to buildings.

Sections of the giant tent which has been erected around St George’s Hall to protect the roof while repairs are carried out had been ripped apart by the wind today.

Despite the high winds, arrivals and departures at Leeds Bradford Airport were largely unaffected by the weather, with every service going ahead as scheduled at the airport, apart from two cancelled services between the airport and London Heathrow in the morning.

Bradford Council was also called out during the day to deal with trees which had been uprooted and fallen onto roads.

A Council spokesman said Council workers were called out to four different incidents around the district to clear trees from the roads.

Elsewhere in the UK, Storm Ophelia tore off building roofs in Scotland and caused one building in Glasgow to partially collapse, while 1,300 homes suffered power cuts.