Travel warning issued ahead of 15-hour snow and ice Met Office forecast

Rail passengers have been issued a warning ahead of a cold snap sweeping the country tonight. The Met Office has issued a 15-hour yellow weather warning for snow and ice.

Wintry conditions are forecast for much of northern England, North Wales, southern Scotland and parts of the midlands. The warning comes into force at 7pm tonight (November 18) and lasts until 10am tomorrow.

Flurries of snow are forecast across parts of Greater Manchester. Temperatures in the city are expected to plunge to zero degrees overnight - with some areas of the region set for lows of -2C.

READ MORE: UK snow LIVE: Met Office issues weather warnings as 20cm forecast

Passengers are being warned to expect disruption in the hours ahead. Network Rail says passengers should check the latest travel information online before setting off on their journey.

Chris Pye, Network Rail’s North West route infrastructure director said: “Snow and ice always pose a challenge at this time of the year, not only to the track, it can also obscure signals and causes branches to fall from trees on to the line. We work hard to ensure that points, which we use to direct trains on the track, don’t become compacted with snow and ice.

"We have teams who can monitor these remotely and further teams on standby ready to respond to heavy snow, should it be needed.” Beyond tonight's weather warning, challenging conditions will continue all week.

Further snow, ice and freezing rain could follow in the days to come for some parts of the country. Network Rail says areas most at risk of disruption include the Pennines and Peak District, between Manchester and Yorkshire.

If required, hundreds of staff equipped with specialist kit will defrost frozen points and signals to keep the railway running safely. In very cold weather, snow and ice can build up on the tracks blocking points, the equipment that allows trains to move between tracks.

Ice can coat the electrified third rail and overhead power cables, preventing trains from drawing the power they need to run and leaving them stranded. Icicles on tunnels, bridges and other structures can also damage trains and overhead power cables.

In the Manchester area, there are mainly heated points and switches which Network Rail teams will be monitoring these to ensure they stay clear of snow and ice. In more remote areas, some have to be treated with anti-freeze manually.