Storm Babet flooding disruption will continue to impact Highland railway lines on Monday, ScotRail confirms
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Disruption caused by the aftermath of Storm Babet flooding will continue to hit multiple Highland railway lines heading into the working week, ScotRail has confirmed.
Trains haven't run on either the Kyle or Far North Lines this weekend owing to pre-planned engineering work.
But flooding caused by Storm Babet would have resulted in the suspension of services anyway after the deluge washed away some of the ballast beneath the track on the Kyle Line at Lochluichart.
"Extremely high" water levels also left a bridge on the Far North Line near Golspie in need of a safety inspection owing to the height of the water, while five other sections of track were also identified by Network Rail Scotland as requiring checks before trains could resume.
The severity of the flooding impact on both lines had raised the possibility this would result in continued disruption going into Monday.
And ScotRail has now confirmed this.
Related: PICTURE: Scale of Storm Babet flooding raises prospect of Highland railway disruption into next week
The Kyle Line will remain closed "until at least Tuesday" due to the amount of stone ballast washed away from the tracks.
There will also be disruption on Far North Line services due to "serious flooding near Helmsdale and also near Rogart". Trains will only run on this line between Inverness and Lairg on Monday, with bus replacements operating north of this to Caithness.
Buses will also replace trains on the entirety of the Kyle Line.
Elsewhere, the Inverness-Aberdeen line reopened in its entirety late on Sunday afternoon. It was previously closed east of Elgin. The Highland Mainline reopened fully on Saturday.
Scott Prentice, ScotRail interim commercial director, said: “Unfortunately, we are still seeing some extremely challenging conditions on the rail network in Fife, the northeast, and the far north caused by the most rainfall experienced in Scotland since 1891.
“Network Rail is working hard to clear debris, including fallen trees, and they are using special ‘leaf-busting’ trains to clear leaf mulch that has made lines in these areas extremely slippery.
“Our first priority is always the safety of customers and staff, and we won’t run services until we are absolutely sure the lines are safe.
“We thank customers for their continuing understanding and patience following Storm Babet in many parts of Scotland and we can assure them that we are doing everything possible to get the last remaining route closures open as quickly as possible.”
