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Wednesday 6 Dec 2023

Severe weather will mean speed restrictions for Scotland’s Railway

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Speed restrictions will be in place on lines across Scotland on Thursday (December 7) to help keep people safe as heavy rain and high winds are set to hit the country.

The Met Office has published yellow rain warnings covering much of Scotland on Thursday, with strong winds expected along the east coast and snow in some areas.

Speed restrictions will be put in place on some sections of the following lines tomorrow until 9am on Friday:

• Aberdeen-Inverness                       
• Dundee-Aberdeen                          
• Perth-Inverness                
• Carlisle-Glasgow Central, via Dumfries
• Glasgow Central-Stranraer           
• West Highland Line (Helensburgh Upper-Fort William)   

Heavy rain can cause landslips or wash the supporting stone (ballast) away from beneath the rails. High winds also increase the risk of trees falling onto the track.

Slowing trains down during bad weather allows more time to stop if the weather causes trees or landslips to block tracks.

A revised timetable will be in place across these areas of Scotland’s Railway due to the extended journey times that the speed restrictions will bring.

Liam Sumpter, Network Rail Scotland route director, said: “The safety of passengers and colleagues is our priority during severe weather and as a precaution, we will be slowing trains down in the affected areas.

“Our weather specialists will be monitoring conditions throughout the day and we will have additional teams out on the network ready to deal with any issues caused by the weather.”

Passengers should check their journey before travelling at National Rail Enquiries or with their train operator.