Rail and road disruption after heavy rain

Rail passengers and motorists are facing disruption following heavy rain in some parts of the country.

ScotRail warned there will be “severe disruption” on the West Highland Line on Wednesday due to “extreme weather” and only some services will run.

Speed restrictions are in place on some routes on the western side of the country after “extreme rainfall overnight”, Network Rail said.

Restrictions are in effect on sections of the West Highland Line, the West Coast Main Line, the Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh route and the Kilmarnock to Carlisle via Dumfries service.

ScotRail posted on social media: “Due to forecasted heavy rain throughout several areas of the network, speed restrictions will be in place until later this evening at multiple locations on the West Highland railway routes.

“Please check your entire journey before you travel.”

In Inverclyde, the railway line has been closed due to high levels of water in the Branchton area, with Glasgow Central to Wemyss Bay services starting and terminating at Port Glasgow.

Roads in the area have also been affected by the weather, with the A78 at Inverkip closed northbound for a period due to flooding, Traffic Scotland said.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for strong wind in western Scotland between 1pm and 7pm on Wednesday.

The warning, covering Argyll and Bute and part of the Highlands, says gusts of 50-60mph are expected fairly widely and a few places are likely to see gusts of 70-75mph, particularly across Mull and Tiree.

It says some delays to road, rail and ferry transport are likely.

The Met Office said that 62.4mm of rain was recorded at Tyndrum in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park in 24 hours on Tuesday September 19.

Liam Sumpter, route director at Network Rail Scotland, said: “For safety reasons, we need to impose speed restrictions on areas of the West Highland Line, Kyle of Lochalsh Line, West Coast Main Line and Kilmarnock – Carlisle.

“We have additional frontline teams working to check flood pumps and remove any debris on or near the railway.

“Our control room team will also be monitoring the weather in real-time and if conditions improve, we’ll remove the speed restrictions sooner.”