Trains are still not serving Northampton as damage to the station is assessed in the wake of Storm Bert.
Heavy rain flooded tracks through the station overnight on Sunday (24/11) after the nearby River Nene burst its banks in the wake of Storm Bert, meaning no trains at all have served Northampton this week.
Network Rail has advised passengers that disruption on the loop through Northampton station is likely to continue for the rest of the week after the severe flooding saw tracks, signals and other vital railway equipment submerged in water for many hours.
Specialist response teams have been deployed to painstakingly clean, repair and test flood-damaged equipment to make sure that the signalling system – the traffic lights of the railway – is working as it should so that trains can safely run.
While this repair work is carried out, Network Rail has advised that services are not expected to resume before Thursday 28 November, and passengers should prepare for disruption until the end of the week.
Gary Walsh, director for Network Rail’s West Coast South route, said, “We’re working as quickly as possible to repair the extensive damage caused by Storm Bert at Northampton station. Our priority is safety, so we’re carrying out rigorous checks and repairs on hundreds of pieces of signalling equipment to ensure everything works properly before reopening.
“Due to the complex nature of this work, we’re advising passengers that journeys through Northampton are likely to be disrupted for the rest of the week and we’re urging people to check before they travel with their train operator. We’re really sorry to everyone affected and will keep passengers informed about our ongoing repairs.”
Jonny Wiseman, customer experience director for London Northwestern Railway, added, “I’d like to thank our passengers for their continued patience and understanding while we work with Network Rail to reintroduce train services to Northampton.
“A temporary timetable will remain in operation on Wednesday, so I urge customers to check their journeys before setting out and allow extra time as rail replacement transport will be in use on some parts of the network.”
Network Rail is working with train operating partners London Northwestern Railway and Avanti West Coast to minimise disruption for passengers.
Through trains are running on the line that bypasses Northampton, while London Northwestern Railway will continue to provide road replacement transport between Rugby-Northampton and Northampton-Milton Keynes.
Passengers are encouraged to check for the latest journey information at www.nationalrail.co.uk or their train operator before travelling.
Electronic dance rock band Pendulum have announced they will be playing the National Bowl in Milton Keynes in August.
The Australian act’s biggest solo headline show will take place at the venue on Saturday 9th August 2025.
The show will be the act’s first headline show at the Bowl but not their first visit to the venue, having previously played as a support act to Linkin Park in 2008 and then to The Prodigy in 2010.
The concert is the second announced musical event to be at the National Bowl next summer, taking place a week after the Reggae Land Festival at the same venue.
Pendulum were founded in Australia in 2002. They have since released thee studio albums and two EPs and have performed at festivals around the world such as Glastonbury, V Festival, Download, Sziget, Creamfields, Coachella, Rock Am Ring and Reading & Leeds.
They have also sold over a million albums in the UK and performed their largest arena tour of the UK earlier this year.
Pre-sale ticket release will take place on Thursday 5th December at 10am before the event goes on general sale on Friday 6th December at 10am.
A new Sports Direct store has opened at the Midsummer Place shopping centre in Central Milton Keynes.
The Fraser Group’s sporting goods retailer has opened a new 50,000 sq ft shop in the lot formerly occupied by Debenhams and Next Beauty in the shopping centre, with the new location opening on Saturday (23/11).
Sports Direct had previously been operators of a branch elsewhere in Midsummer Place.
In addition to clothing by sports brands such as Nike, Puma, Adidas and Under Armour, there will also be multiple concessions for other Frasers Group retail brands such as USC, Evans Cycles, GAME and Jack Wills.
Fraser Group have also said the store will be the first UK retailer to showcase Nike Strength, a premium training equipment range designed to empower athletes of all levels.
Sports Direct’s new Home Sport Department will also makes its debut at this store, featuring integrated digital touchpoints that allow customers to shop for products only available online.
Products such as snooker and pool tables, trampolines, treadmills, tents, and gym equipment are now easily accessible. This concept has been introduced to ensure a seamless connection between in-store and online shopping, broadening access to Sports Direct’s extensive product range.
Ger Wright, Managing Director of Sports at Frasers Group, said, “The opening of Sports Direct Milton Keynes reflects our continuous ambition to deliver new, elevated experiences to consumers as part of our ongoing growth strategy. This store combines leading sports brands with specialist zones, including our new Home Sport department, establishing it as the ultimate destination for sporting goods in Milton Keynes.”
A team run by the American motor brand General Motors with a base at Silverstone has agreed a deal to join Formula One in 2026.
After two years or so of speculation, the project lead by General Motors (GM) has been granted approval in principle to join Formula One as per a statement by F1 earlier today (25/11).
The project had originally been helmed by the Andretti Global team, which competes in multiple other forms of motorsport including IndyCar, Formula E, Extreme E, IMSA and Australian Supercars, before Andretti agreed to work with the American brand GM.
Initially, F1 rejected the proposal to open a spot on the grid to Andretti, with formal rejection announced in January despite the FIA approving the project’s bid to enter Formula One last year.
Undeterred, the team pushed on with plans to be ready. Part of this included the opening of a base at Silverstone adjacent to the track that hosts the British Grand Prix and near to the base of Aston Martin’s F1 team.
The Silverstone base was intended by Andretti Global to host the team’s race and design departments and was paired with plans to build the cars and run the team from facilities in Indiana and North Carolina in the USA. The Silverstone base was opened in April and has seen staff recruited towards the project.
Rumours had emerged over the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend that F1’s operators Formula One Management were preparing to U-turn on the previous refusal to let the team in, which the news now confirms.
While confirmation has come, the team will no longer be referred to as an Andretti entry as originally intended. Andretti leader Michael Andretti walked away from day-to-day leadership of the company last month, with the statement seeing the approved team named by F1 as GM/Cadillac – named after the GM-owned car brand – and running as a joint effort by GM and TWG Global, who own and operate Andretti Global.
As part of the deal, GM is seeking to create its own engine and run as a works team, with the team to run a customer engine until this is ready. This was originally planned to be introduced in 2028, but has since been pushed back to being ready by the end of the decade.
In a statement, Formula One’s managing group said the deal had been agreed in principle. The move will see F1 expand to a grid of 11 teams and 22 cars for the first time since the Manor F1 team collapsed at the end of 2016.
The F1 statement read, “Formula 1 announced today that it has reached an agreement in principle with General Motors (GM) to support bringing GM/Cadillac as the 11th team to the Formula 1 grid in 2026.
“Formula 1 has maintained a dialogue with General Motors, and its partners at TWG Global, regarding the viability of an entry following the commercial assessment and decision made by Formula 1 in January 2024.
“Over the course of this year, they have achieved operational milestones and made clear their commitment to brand the eleventh team GM/Cadillac, and that GM will enter as an engine supplier at a later time. Formula 1 is therefore pleased to move forward with this application process and will provide further updates in due course.”
The emergency services have declared a major incident in Northamptonshire after flooding caused by Storm Bert.
A multi-agency response involving fire, police, North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire Councils, the Environment Agency and local NHS partners has been put together to ensure a joint response is in place to protect residents.
This has been prepared to help across the county with the potential for further severe weather expected later this week as well.
Several areas have been heavily hit by floods in the aftermath of heavy rain on Saturday (24/11) and Sunday (25/11), with emergency services and volunteers having to rescue residents from flooded properties and stranded vehicles.
A number of alerts and warnings remain in place – including the only flood warning in the country, which has been issued near Billing Aquadrome in the east of Northampton due to threat to life.
Flood sirens were sounded in the morning at Billing Aquadrome and agencies assisted the management of the park in evacuating the site. However, some people remain at the location, which is cut off from access, with Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service confirming that they expected to be carrying out boat rescues for the rest of the day.
The evacuation of the Billing Aquadrome affects approximately 1,000 people. Six people with care and support needs have been moved to alternative provision.
West Northamptonshire Council is providing a rest centre at Lings Forum Leisure Centre for displaced residents. Their immediate welfare and temporary accommodation needs are being assessed by council teams who are also making welfare checks on vulnerable people across West Northamptonshire.
The rest centre was open from around 2am this morning and began accepting residents a few hours later.
The council and Children’s Trust have also mobilised safe and well checks and calls to the area’s most vulnerable children and adults.
North Northamptonshire Council, working with partners, stood up an emergency flood assistance centre at the Corby Cube. This was stood down this morning, but another assistance centre has been stood up in Kettering at the Counties Community Centre for residents at the Venture Park area of the town.
Highways teams are supporting emergency services with flooding incidents countywide, with the agencies confirming they had so far received more than 160 calls, mainly relating to reports of flooding and fallen trees.
Road closures are in place across the county with some disruption to public transport including trains at Northampton.
Control rooms for Police and Fire were inundated with more than a thousand calls over the weekend.
Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) received 245 weather related calls over the weekend with 36 incidents needing to be attended to by firefighters.
In Lower Harlestone, Swiftwater Rescue Technicians used inflatable sleds to rescue 15 adults, four dogs and three cats from eight different properties.
Northamptonshire Police received nearly 800 calls into its Control Room yesterday (November 24), more than 600 of which were 999 calls related to Storm Bert.
Demand continues to be extremely high, and Police and Fire are asking people to only call 999 where there is a risk to life.
Superintendent Steve Freeman, of Northamptonshire Police who is chairing the multi-agency response, said, “While the bad weather and resulting flooding remains ongoing, please avoid all unnecessary travel and do not drive through floodwater of any depth – it is not worth risking your safety or your vehicle.
“We’ve been receiving significant numbers of weather-related calls over the weekend and into today too so to help us assist those most in need we are asking people to only call 999 where life is at risk.
“We expect to remain very busy over the coming days dealing with issues relating to Storm Bert and I would ask residents in Northamptonshire to consider whether any journey they’re making is necessary.
“If it is, please take care – drive to the weather conditions and be aware of your surroundings.”
Up-to-date warnings and information can be found at https://check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/
Further information and guidance on flooding, and how to report it, can be found below.
West Northamptonshire – https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/its-emergency/report-flood
North Northamptonshire – https://www.northnorthants.gov.uk/flooding
