No rush-hour trains as Storm Isha disruption continues
A yellow warning of wind remains in place.
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Your support makes all the difference.Travel disruption is continuing after amber and red warnings at the height of Storm Isha, with all ScotRail trains suspended until after the morning rush-hour.
Many ferry services have been cancelled and roads are closed after the storm swept the UK, with a gust of 107mph recorded on the Tay Bridge and one of 84mph at Salsburgh, North Lanarkshire.
Police have urged motorists to exercise caution when travelling as conditions may be hazardous.
A rare red “danger to life” warning of wind was in force in northern Scotland until 5am on Monday, while an amber warning of wind for the whole country was lifted at 6am.
A Met Office yellow warning of strong wind remains in force until midday, with warnings of gusts of 50mph-60mph inland and up 80mph in exposed coastal areas.
ScotRail suspended services at 7pm on Sunday and said there will be no rush-hour services on Monday morning.
The company said each route will have to undergo a safety inspection on Monday, meaning it will be later on before any trains can run.
ScotRail customer operations director Phil Campbell said: “We know the impact that the withdrawal of train services will have on customers, but our first priority is always to ensure the safety of staff and passengers – and this is a necessary step to ensure everyone’s safety during the severe weather.
“Our colleagues at Network Rail Scotland will be working flat out through the night and into the morning to carry out safety checks, and assess what repairs are required to reopen the railway.
“However, customers will be unable to travel early Monday morning, as trains will not be able to operate until the infrastructure has been made safe.”
Speaking later on BBC Radio Scotland, he said it will be late morning at the earliest before any trains can run.
He told the programme: “It will be late morning and into the afternoon before we see routes reopening.”
Network Rail Scotland said it has at least 10 trees to remove from the railway between Garrowhill and Easterhouse on Monday morning, and there has been “significant damage” to overhead wires, which need to be repaired.
Elsewhere, the remains of a garden shed has been found on the line at Bellgrove station in Glasgow.
Police warned people to expect disruption.
Police Scotland tweeted: “Conditions for travel across Scotland may be hazardous and extra caution should be exercised by all road users.”
Roads including the M9 and the A1 were among those affected by closures while some bridges were shut to high-sided vehicles.
Many Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services were also disrupted or cancelled due to the weather conditions, while NorthLink ferries warned services may be affected.
On Sunday evening, a flight travelling from Sharm el Sheikh to Glasgow Airport declared an emergency due to Storm Isha.
A spokesman for Glasgow Airport said the Tui flight was “diverted to Manchester due to current weather conditions”.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has issued 51 flood warnings and 17 flood alerts around the country.
Transport Scotland said the strongest gust recorded on its network overnight was 107mph on the Tay Bridge, with other locations seeing gusts of more than 70mph, while the Met Office said an 84mph gust was recorded at Salsburgh.
Martin Thomson, national operations manager for resilience at Transport Scotland, said: “Our resilience plans are in full effect. Staff from our trunk road operating companies are patrolling the network and undertaking inspections to respond quickly to any further treefall or blocked drains.
“Their proactive efforts this weekend in terms of branch cutting and drain clearing at vulnerable locations has helped minimise disruption this morning.
“A Met Office yellow warning for wind remains in effect for much of Scotland until midday – and our roads operatives are out there on the network in these difficult conditions doing all they can to respond to the worst impacts of Storm Isha.
“Across the wider network, we’ve seen ferry disruption, flight disruption and rail services remain suspended until Network Rail engineers visually inspect rail lines to ensure services are safe to resume.”