Further travel chaos after floods Floods wrecked road and rail travel again today with major train routes closed and some highways shut to traffic. The two main London to Scotland train companies - East Coast and Virgin West Coast - had services disrupted, with East Coast unable to run any trains between Newcastle upon Tyne and Edinburgh. The storms, which led to the death of teacher Mike Ellis in Shropshire yesterday, also resulted in a spate of road closures, particularly in Worcestershire, Cheshire and Cumbria. While transport continued to be disrupted there was better news from forecasters who predicted that the worst of the storms were over, at the end of a month likely to be one of the wettest Junes on record. Due to flooding and a landslip near Berwick, there were no trains running between Newcastle and Berwick, with the line not expected to open until Saturday morning. The Berwick problems meant there were no East Coast services to and from Glasgow Central or Inverness. ScotRail services in the West Highlands were being badly delayed by a 24-wagon freight train derailment between Tulloch and Corrour, and a landslip occurred between Ardlui and Arrochar. There were delays of up to 90 minutes, with service alterations and bus replacements in some areas. Passengers spoke today of enduring a 15-hour London to Scotland rail journey due to flooding and landslips. In a separate incident, passengers on a 5.20pm Birmingham to Glasgow Virgin Trains service did not arrive in Glasgow until 4am today after an engine fire forced an evacuation. Among the areas where roads were hit by flooding in Worcestershire were Catshill, Droitwich Spa and Rednal. Cheshire was another of the counties to be badly affected, with traffic disrupted by a fallen tree on the M56. Drivers in north east England were hit, with flooding affecting the A691 in Lanchester in County Durham and the B601 in Gateshead in Tyne and Wear. All major routes in Tyneside were open again today but at least eight schools in the area were closed, as were some public buildings, including leisure centres and libraries. More than a dozen cars were wrecked after they were submerged close to Heworth Metro station in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. Owners came to survey the damage and retrieve soaking valuables after the water subsided. A 90-year-old man was among a number of people rescued from vehicles by fire crews following flash flooding in the Bridgnorth area of Shropshire. Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic were also hit by floods and at the height of the disruption, more than 10,000 homes in the Cork area and 1,000 in Northern Ireland suffered blackouts. Flood damage hit hundreds of homes and businesses in the affluent Cork suburb of Douglas, while parts of Belfast and County Antrim were also badly affected. In Northern Ireland, a section of Stoney Road in Dundonald was closed because of flooding. The Environment Agency has 10 flood warnings in place in the Midlands, north east and north west England. According to forecasters, the storms have been caused by a weather phenomenon known as the Spanish plume, with warm, moist air sweeping up from the south being lifted by a cold weather front from the west, bringing prolonged and exceptionally intense downpours.