Climate change is making Britain's trains less reliable. Freedom of Information data obtained by Round Our Way from Network Rail shows that flood-related disruption now costs passengers around 87 minutes of delay for every million journeys, up from 55 in the mid-2010s. That is a rise of nearly 60%, and in 2025 alone flooding caused 2,102 cancellations and more than 70,000 minutes of delays.

The impact is uneven. ScotRail, Northern and Great Western have seen the most weather-related cancellations over the past decade, as floods, landslips and extreme rain hit Scotland, Northern England and the South West hardest. Even quieter periods are no longer as quiet as they were, meaning the baseline level of disruption is creeping up year on year.

The science behind it is clear: a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, so when it rains, it rains harder. The Met Office says the past decade was 10% wetter than the 1961–1990 average, and the Climate Change Committee has warned the UK is not prepared for what is already happening.

As Sofie Jenkinson, Co-Director of Round Our Way, puts it, this is worrying but fixable. Long-term resilience investment in the rail network is essential if we want to keep the country moving, alongside efforts to cut emissions and hold polluters to account.

Flooding is having an impact on train cancellations as climate change impacts the UK