A section of the A66 trans-Pennine express between Bowes in County Durham and Brough in Cumbria will remain closed all day due to the weather conditions.

Meanwhile, First TransPennine Express axed its Manchester to Newcastle train service, while there was a reduced service between London and Leeds on the East Coast Main Line.

Elsewhere train services are almost back to normal, with only a few cancellations and most companies running a full timetable.

Channel Tunnel high-speed train company Eurostar was running a near-normal service but with some cancellations.

Agencies responsible for the supply and distribution of grit were due to hold another salt summit today as forecasters warned of more snow on the way.

Transport Minister Sadiq Khan acknowledged fresh measures were likely to be needed over today and tomorrow ''to keep Britain moving''. Yesterday, Whitehall officials met in the Civil Contingencies Committee to discuss the ongoing response to the extreme weather, and the Salt Cell, which brings together agencies responsible for the supply and distribution of salt for road gritting, will meet again today.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman said: ''Central Government, key agencies and staff across the transport industries are closely co-ordinating and providing a comprehensive response to minimise the disruption caused.

''The Highways Agency continues to have its fleet of 500 salt-spreaders and snow-ploughs out in force and has been successful in keeping the vast majority of the major road network open.''

But Tom Foulkes, director general of the Institution of Civil Engineers, said: ''National salt supplies are now running dangerously low.

''In future, we must have much better contingency plans in place to ensure our roads are not rendered unusable when snow hits.''

The AA warned of ''hazardous conditions'' and said many roads were still ''treacherous''.

And the wintry weather looks set to continue for the next few days before a slight thaw sets in as the mercury begins to rise later in the week.