EXTREME WEATHER CLOSES HIGHLAND RAIL LINES

Thursday 26 Oct 2006

EXTREME WEATHER CLOSES HIGHLAND RAIL LINES

Region & Route:: Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Severe flooding in the Highlands has led to the suspension of all rail services beyond Inverness to Thurso, Wick and Kyle of Lochalsh. Lines are not expected to reopen for several days while work is carried out to replace track that has been washed away and remove tonnes of earth and rubble that has fallen onto the railway. David Simpson, Route Director for Network Rail in Scotland said: “Our people are working as hard and as quickly as possible to deal with the effects of this extreme weather. Extensive road closures and atrocious conditions are currently hampering access to the affected locations but wherever possible staff are working to clear the debris that landslides and floods have left on the railway. It may take several days, but we will get services running again as soon as humanly possible." Passengers in the Highlands are being advised not to travel. Service information is available from First ScotRail (www.firstscotrail.com or 0845 601 5929) or National Rail Enquiries (www.nationalrail.co.uk or 08457 48 49 50).

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