Ongoing travel disruption as clean-up after Storm Eowyn gets under way

Travellers face ongoing disruption in the aftermath of Storm Eowyn, as efforts to clean up the damage done by Friday’s hurricane-force winds continue.

People all over Scotland were urged to stay indoors on Friday to avoid injury as winds of up to 100mph swept across much of the south of the country.

The Met Office issued a rare red weather warning covering much of southern Scotland and yellow and amber warnings for the rest of the country, and a wind speed of 100mph was recorded in South Lanarkshire in the early afternoon.

Thousands of properties are still without power and there is continuing travel disruption across the country, with trains and ferries suspended and roads closed.

In a post on social media First Minister John Swinney said the clean-up operation would “take some time”, and appealed to the public for “patience” while works are carried out.

Network Rail Scotland said services on some lines have resumed after tracks were cleared but that the “vast majority” of lines remain closed.

Inspections are being carried out on tracks and stations across the country, including with the help of a helicopter.

Network Rail Scotland said 400 incidents of damage on Scotland’s railways had been found since the storm passed, including more than 120 trees and other debris being found on tracks, with work ongoing to clear lines.

National rail operator ScotRail said “extensive damage” had been done to overhead lines in some areas, which they said would need to be repaired before trains could resume safely.

This included four areas of overhead wire damage south of Carstairs on the West Coast Main Line, with engineers currently assessing the damage.

The Kilwinning – Largs/Ardrossan route will also remain closed today after an overhead line mast was brought down by a fallen tree.

Joanne Maguire, ScotRail managing director, warned that disruption would continue “throughout the weekend at least”, and advised travellers to check the ScotRail website or app before making travel plans.

Tickets for journeys that were disrupted by the storm can be used up to and including Tuesday January 28, and customers can also apply for a fee-free refund on any unused tickets.

While most trunk roads that were closed as a result of the storm have now reopened, Transport Scotland has warned that local roads may still be flooded or closed, and that travellers should check with local authorities for the latest information.

Bus services have also been disrupted, with travellers advised to check with operators before travelling.

Ferry operators have also announced continuing disruption over the weekend.

CalMac said storm damage has caused all services on its Kennacraig, Port Askaig and Port Ellen route and Oban, Colonsay, Port Askaig and Kennacraig route to be cancelled on Saturday, while all sailings between Gourock and Dunoon are cancelled on Saturday and Sunday, with a replacement shuttle bus being provided.

Meanwhile a number of other CalMac services face disruption or possible disruption and replacement timetables have been issued for a number of routes, with further information being available on the CalMac website.

Disruption to power supplies is also continuing, with SP Energy Networks saying engineers had worked through the night to restore power to more than 80% of properties affected by the storm but that 30,265 customers were still without power this morning.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution said a “massive operation” was taking place to rectify a “huge amount of damage” to the electricity network.

The company said that as at 11.30am on Saturday “almost 70,000” of its customers had been reconnected, and that work was ongoing to restore supplies to 20,000 more.

On a post on social media on Saturday morning SSEN said it had set up hot food and drink vans for those still without power.

The Met Office has issued fresh yellow weather warnings covering the whole of Scotland on Saturday and Sunday.

A yellow weather warning for wind in the far north and Orkney expired at 3pm on Saturday, while there is a yellow weather warning for wind in the northern and western Highlands from 6pm on Saturday to 6am on Sunday.

A yellow weather warning for snow and ice has also been issued for the far north and west of the country, beginning at 6pm on Saturday and expiring at 10am on Sunday.

Police Scotland said officers had responded to 1,900 weather-related incidents across the country on Friday, while the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said it had responded to around 300 incidents.

Schools and nurseries across Scotland were closed on Friday while non-urgent planned hospital procedures were postponed in NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Lothian.

Glasgow and Edinburgh airports also saw dozens of flights cancelled on Friday morning because of the weather conditions.

The Met Office red warning ran until 5pm on Friday and covered the central belt including Glasgow and Edinburgh, stretching north on the west coast to Jura in Argyll and Bute.

It originally stretched south to Stranraer in Dumfries and Galloway but at around 11am on Friday this was extended to cover most of Dumfries and Galloway.