No trains in Scotland after 7pm as Storm Jocelyn brings strong winds and rain
Services on Wednesday morning have also been cancelled due to the expectation of extreme weather.
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Your support makes all the difference.No ScotRail trains will run in Scotland after 7pm as Storm Jocelyn sweeps in bringing more heavy wind and rain to the country.
Rush hour services on Wednesday morning have also been cancelled due to expectations of extreme weather over the next 24 hours.
The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for wind covering much of the UK, with an amber wind warning covering the west coast of Scotland, parts of the north and north east and Orkney between 6pm on Tuesday until 8am on Wednesday.
There are also yellow warnings for rain covering parts of western and southern Scotland and a yellow warning for ice has been issued across northern and eastern parts of Scotland.
We know the impact this has on customers, but the safety of staff and passengers will always be our priority
ScotRail said infrastructure had already been “significantly impacted” by Storm Isha, which passed only yesterday, and it predicted Storm Jocelyn will create more challenges across the network.
It comes after all ScotRail services were suspended at 7pm on Sunday evening due to Storm Isha, with services restarting later on Monday though some routes were still closed at 11am on Tuesday.
Heavy winds of up to 80 mph are expected during Storm Jocelyn, prompting fears more trees and other debris could fall onto tracks making it unsafe for trains to complete their journeys.
Phil Campbell, ScotRail’s customer operations director, said: “This is the second withdrawal of train services this week, and we know the impact this has on customers, but the safety of staff and passengers will always be our priority.
“Our colleagues at Network Rail Scotland will again be working flat out to carry out safety checks, and assess what repairs are required to reopen the railway.
“However, customers will be unable to travel early on Wednesday morning, as trains will not be able to operate until the infrastructure has been made safe.
“We will update our website, mobile app, and social media feeds when we have more information, and customers should check for the latest updates before they attempt to travel.”
Met Office chief meteorologist Steve Willington said Storm Jocelyn has the potential to cause more disruption than Storm Isha did earlier this week.
He said: “Outbreaks of heavy rain on Tuesday could bring rainfall accumulations of 15 to 20mm quite widely with 40 to 50mm over higher ground in south-west Scotland, the Scottish Highlands and parts of north-west England.
“Wind gusts are expected to reach 55 to 65mph across north-western Scotland while there is potential for winds to reach 75 to 80mph in a few places, in particular exposed parts of the Western Isles and coastal north-west Scotland early on Wednesday morning.”
Tens of thousands of homes in the UK suffered power cuts due to Storm Isha, with some homes in the south of Scotland still without power on Tuesday morning.
Scottish Power estimated about 450 customers in the Borders; 420 in Dumfries and Galloway; and a further 300 in Ayrshire were still cut off as of about 9.30am.
We can expect to see more delays and cancellations with ferries, flights and rail from Tuesday into Wednesday morning
In the Falkirk area hundreds of properties were left without power after a tree fell onto an electricity substation on Sunday evening.
A spokesperson for network operator GTC said: “The tree came down on a GTC substation in Larbert and the resulting damage led to 368 homes being without electricity.
“GTC is working hard to restore power to the affected homes. To safely remove the tree and assess the damage to the substation, GTC unfortunately needs to isolate the supply to the local area, impacting 1,868 homes.
“Isolation of the homes is currently underway. We expect to have the supply restored by 4pm this afternoon (Tuesday).”
Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution said that as of noon, supplies have been successfully restored to more than 37,000 customers in northern Scotland.
Work to reconnect the 370 remaining properties still without power is continuing and they are expected to be reconnected by the end of the day.
Storm Isha claimed two lives including that of an 84-year-old man who died after the car in which he was a front-seat passenger crashed into a fallen tree in Grangemouth at about 11.45pm on Sunday, Police Scotland said.
A man in his 60s was killed in a crash involving two vans and a fallen tree in Limavady, Co Londonderry, on Sunday night, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said.
Martin Thomson, national operations manager for resilience at Transport Scotland, said: “Across the wider network, we can expect to see more delays and cancellations with ferries, flights and rail from Tuesday into Wednesday morning.”
Meanwhile, Avanti West Coast has urged passengers not to travel north of Preston from London after 3.30pm on Tuesday.
The last scheduled service from London to Glasgow leaves the capital at 3.30pm – calling at Preston at 5.41pm – and is “expected to be extremely busy”, the operator warned.
A spokesperson said: “The last trains from Glasgow and Edinburgh will leave before 5pm. Our train service to and from Scotland is expected to resume no earlier than 12pm on January 24.”