SCOTS commuters face rush-hour chaos with flooding and snow expected across much of the country and follows days of torrential rain which has already caused railway lines to be closed due to landslips.

A train was struck during one landslide which damaged rolling stock but no-one was injured yesterday in the incident near Wick.

In a separate incident an estimated 40 tonnes of material was washed down from an embankment on to the line between Inverness and Beauly.

Shortly after, there was a landslip between Garve and Achnasheen on the Kyle of Lochalsh route.

Train services from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh and Wick have been affected, with the line blocked between the Highland capital and Beauly.

Services are operating to and from Dingwall, instead of Inverness, on both lines.

A ScotRail spokesman said heavy rain was to blame.

The incidents followed an almost day-long period of rain on Tuesday, and ahead of expected snow showers for large parts of Scotland today.

A number of flood alerts remain in place for parts of Scotland following the heavy rain.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has issued alerts for Caithness and Sutherland and Dumfries and Galloway.

It also has alerts in place for Orkney and the Scottish Borders.

The agency said river levels are expected to peak on Wednesday evening but the Met Office has issued a yellow "be aware" warning for snow for most of mainland Scotland on Thursday morning.

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said an assessment was being made of the extent of the damage to line near Inverness.