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Friday 22 Nov 2024

Storm Bert to cause disruption across Scotland’s Railway this weekend

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Strong winds, heavy snow and rain and falling temperatures brought by Storm Bert will disrupt some rail services across Scotland from tomorrow morning (Saturday 23 November). 

Some journeys may take longer than normal and passengers are being urged to plan ahead as the storm – which the Met Office is describing as a ‘multi-hazard event’ – brings amber and yellow weather warnings to most of the UK. 

Gusts of up to 65mph are expected to hit the Stranraer line with winds of between 30 and 35 mph due to blow across other parts of the country. 

Some areas including Abington-Beattock, on the West Coast Mainline, and Arrochar-Tyndrum, on the West Highland Line, could see snowfall of up to 15-25cm as well as blizzard conditions.  A rapid thaw is then expected in the southwest during Saturday afternoon which could also lead to flooding. 

Trains on the following lines will run at a reduced speed from tomorrow morning: 

• West Highland Line
• Highland Mainline
• Stranraer line
• Far North Line
• West Coast Mainline, between Carstairs and the border.

Ahead of the extreme weather, Network Rail’s maintenance teams are carrying out additional checks on our lineside vegetation, proactively applying anti-frost solution on crucial equipment and will have additional staff on hand throughout the next few days to respond to any weather-related incidents. 

Ross Moran, route director, Network Rail Scotland, said: “Storm Bert will bring extreme weather that will impact some services in Scotland. 

“To keep passengers and colleagues safe, we need to slow trains down on several lines across the country from first thing on Saturday. 

“In the meantime, our engineers are carrying out extra checks in areas known to be at risk from the elements. We’ll have more staff than normal on duty to remove fallen trees and debris from the track, as well as to tackle frost and flooding. 

“Some journeys will take longer than normal and we advise passengers to plan ahead. We will remove speed restrictions as soon as we can and we thank passengers for their patience.” 

Passengers due to travel on Sunday or on Monday morning when the storm has passed should check their journey at nationalrail.co.uk or with their train operator before travelling.