Media centre

Thursday 5 Dec 2013

Network Rail restarting services in Scotland after severe storm

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Train services in Scotland are running again after severe winds of up to 100mph caused the network to close on Thursday morning due to safety concerns.

Hundreds of engineers are out across the country inspecting the railway infrastructure, removing debris and fallen trees and repairing damage so lines can be brought back into service as soon as possible.

Services are being reintroduced in phases as each line on the network is proven to be clear of damage. Trains are already running on the main Edinburgh Waverley-Glasgow Queen St line and on the Edinburgh-North Berwick line.

Engineers are currently conducting checks on the network using engineering trains, empty passenger trains, road-rail vehicles and our helicopter to bring more routes back into use.

Services will run without speed restrictions, but on a much reduced timetable. Some routes will remain unavailable throughout the day as more extensive repairs may be required and passengers should check before they travel.

David Dickson, Network Rail area director for the west of Scotland, said: “With winds of up to 100mph recorded on the network this morning, suspending services was an unavoidable and necessary step to protect passenger safety.

“Train services have now restarted and our engineers are working as quickly as possible to assess the damage caused by today’s gale force winds and reopen as much of the network as we can.

“We are working closely with train operators to reach as many destinations as possible, however, some routes where we have seen significant damage to equipment like overhead power lines will take longer to repair.”

The network was closed for several hours this morning after rapidly deteriorating weather conditions made the running of a safe service impossible.

High winds caused significant damage on routes across Scotland with overhead power lines and equipment damaged on the north Clydeside line near Helensburgh, the Inverclyde line and at Largs and Ardrossan in Ayrshire.

On non-electric routes there was trees and debris on lines at locations across the central belt – including a 20ft tree blocking the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line at Lenzie - and in the north east and south west. Glasgow Central station was also evacuated just after eight o’clock after two panes of glass on the station roof were broken in the storm.

With winds peaking at 100mph in some places, all services on the Scotland route were suspended shortly before 9am as it was judged no longer possible to provide a safe service for passengers.