Slip-sliding away: West Highland Line closed after mud derails train
Passengers on the Mallaig to Fort William service had a lucky escape after the train they were travelling in was forced off the line due to a landslide. The route is expected to remain closed for several days to allow tonnes of material that came down on the line between Arisaig and Glenfinnan to be cleared up.
Severe weather and treacherous conditions caused chaos across Scotland, sparking numerous rescues to help people stranded or lost on roads, railways and hills.
Passengers were lucky to escape unhurt when their train was derailed by a landslip on the scenic West Highland Line yesterday morning.
The incident happened between Glenfinnan, home to the imposing viaduct immortalised in the Harry Potter films, and Lochailort.
The blockage saw tonnes of mud and debris washed down on to the line, resulting in services between Fort William and Mallaig bring suspended until further notice while engineers assess damage to the railway and the hillside. “At the moment we are assessing the extent of the damage,” a Networkrail Scotland spokesman said.
“We have specialist geotechnical engineers onsite who will assess the slope above the railway to see if it is stable.
“We have track engineers onsite with heavy equipment to dig the mud away from the train once we know it is safe to do so.”
They were unable to say how long the clear-up operation would take, but it was suggested the line could stay closed until Thursday.
Mountain rescue teams were called out to various locations to search for climbers and walkers who had got into difficulties.
A 64-year-old man who had been living without power for a week in a remote cottage in Dumfries and Galloway was taken to safety after becoming stranded while attempting to reach help in a neighbouring village.
The man, whose lives near Eskdalemuir, battled through deep snow for more than four hoursbeforecallingemergency services.
Deep snowdrifts forced the rescuers to abandon their vehicle and continue searching on foot after dark, taking two further hours before they found him.
Searches have been continuing for a climber missing on Ben Nevis in an incident on Sunday evening that involved two colleagues being rescued near the summit of the country’s highest mountain.
Two climbers were airlifted in a dramatic rescue in Glencoe on Saturday after blizzard conditions hampered rescue efforts and they were forced to endure freezing conditions overnight in the mountains.
The heavy snowfall sparked a rush to take advantage of great conditions at Scotland’s winter sports resorts, leading to lengthy tailbacks on roads over the weekend.
Police were urging people heading to Nevis Range and Glencoe Mountain to turn back, as car parks at both places were full and surrounding roads were experiencing serious traffic problems.
Officers were warning drivers who had parked on side roads and verges that abandoned vehicles would be towed away.
Five people were hurt in a two-car crash on the A82 near the Glencoe Mountain resort on Sunday.
The latest incidents come just days after hundreds of motorists were stranded on the M74 after sudden snowfall brought traffic to a standstill.
The mercury plunged to an icy -14.1C at Braemar in Aberdeenshire on Saturday night – the coldest temperature recorded in the UK since 14 February 2016.