While many people were expecting to enjoy a relaxing half term and return to school, what they were not expecting was to be greeted with was a literal facial assault courtesy of storm Eunice and the flow of storms that attacked the UK. Storm Eunice was the worst storm to hit the UK in over 30 years with 100mph winds wreaking havoc across the country. However, the bad hair day and messed up clothes were merely a side effect of the ruined travel plans that disrupted everyone’s daily routine from school students to office workers. ‘Code black’ is the term for a national disruption to all railway services, where every single service is halted and not a single train runs along the track. 

While over one week more than 2800 train services were cancelled nationally, mainly courtesy of over 70 trees falling on the train lines and flying debris, many people focused more on the negative aspect of the situation, such as the fact that their travel journey would potentially take a lot longer than usual.  

One disgruntled young woman, Maddalena Pizzingrilli, whose journey to sixth form requires a 25-minute train journey, was one of the unfortunate victims whose journey was dramatically affected. Rather than a convenient train journey, she was forced to take the bus and leave home at an earlier time. She said; ‘I was extremely upset when I found out the trains were cancelled. I know it was for safety and practical reasons, but it was hard to think that way when I had to go on a 70-minute bus journey that included traffic and a packed bus because of the cancellations.’ 

While some people may have been privately bothered by the disruption to their day, the fierce winds and horror stories of fallen trees killing commuters were enough to stop a major wave of complaints against TFL.