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Space hero Buzz takes to train - beaten by the snow

Aldrin, who piloted the successful Apollo 11 mission and became the second man to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969, tweeted from his seat on East Coast’s London to Edinburgh service this afternoon:

“On the train from King’s Cross to Edinburgh after numerous airline mishaps – our First Class car is full so we’re slumming it in coach but all good.”

London Heathrow had been affected by some 250 cancellations, mainly affecting domestic flights to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle. The option was to switch to the train.

Passengers were praising East Coast and other operators for keeping trains running. Marc Roberts from Durham tweeted: “Lifting restrictions on travel times for all tickets today was a very smart public spirited move” – while another passenger, ‘Ed’, texted BBC News Online to say

“Well done East Coast trains for lifting the travel time stipulations today - 10/10 for common sense, means I left two hours earlier from Newcastle to London. Train company which cares - thank you!”

East Coast spokesman John Gelson said: “We’re pleased Buzz Aldrin, possibly one of the most famous pilots in history, switched from the ‘plane to our train today. From his picture it’s clear he enjoyed his journey with us

“As the snow continues to move across the country this evening, our people are working hard to prepare our trains and stations as well as we can. Additional engineering teams are based at key points on our route to keep trains moving, while Network Rail have snowploughs ready to keep tracks clear.

“Our advice to customers is, please check for the latest information before setting out, and allow extra time to reach stations as road conditions are expected to deteriorate through the day.”