Flooding brings travel misery for thousands
Landslip shuts rail line, ferries halted and rivers burst their banks
Melting snow combined with heavy rain brought by Storm Georgina saw rivers burst their banks, while winds of up to 85mph caused scores of CalMac ferry services to be cancelled.
Thirty-four flood warnings and alerts were issued by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, with the Borders, Dumfriesshire and Tayside the worst affected areas.
The most serious incident happened on the Glasgow to Edinburgh line at Winch- burgh, West Lothian, where a landslide covered the tracks.
ScotRail said 63 services, mainly those passing through Glasgow and Dunblane en route to Edinburgh, were hit. Trains terminated at Linlithgow and passengers were taken by bus to Edinburgh.
Flooding in Linlithgow and Bathgate also caused signal faults and power cuts, which affected other services on the railway line.
Commenting on an image of the Winchburgh landslip posted online, Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said: ‘Safety is the main issue here. As the picture demonstrates, landslips present a very real danger to our rail services.’
A ScotRail spokesman said: ‘Our engineers are doing everything possible to keep people moving.’
Another landslide blocked the A76 between Kirkconnel and Kelloholm in Dumfriesshire. Debris spilled onto the adjoining railway line, disrupting trains between Glasgow, Carlisle and Newcastle.
The West Highland Line between Mallaig and Glasgow will remain closed until Monday as engineers battle to clear the line following a 1,000-ton landslip near Arisaig, Inverness-shire, on Monday.
The Whitesands area of Dumfries was under four feet of water for a second day. Part of the town centre was sealed off after rain and gales caused the River Nith to burst its banks, flooding shops and business premises. It also flooded the waterfront Dock Park, where two years ago £2million was spent on the visitor attraction.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘Many other car parks along the river have had to be evacuated and vehicles removed because of the waters rising so quickly.’
Flooding closed the A68 at Jedburgh, Roxburghshire, while winds of 85mph were recorded on South Uist at 8am and high winds triggered height restrictions on the Skye, Kessock, Tay and Clackmannanshire bridges.
CalMac services between Colonsay, Port Askaig on Islay and Kennacraig near Tarbert, Argyll, and between Tarbert and Arran were cancelled. Winds gusting to 66mph halted sailings between Mallaig and the Small Isles.
Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said: ‘After the wind heads out to the North Sea, we are back to polar maritime air, which will see the return of cold conditions but not significantly so.
‘Friday will be a more pleasant day, with plenty of sunshine.’
‘Very real danger to our rail services’
THOUSANDS of rail passengers and motorists saw their journeys plunged into chaos yesterday as major routes were blocked by landslides amid severe flooding and high winds.