RAILWAY passengers and motorists have been facing severe disruption in Scotland over the last 24 hours, and the difficulty to travel has increased this morning.

Due to the heavy rain and flooding, there have been several rail services disrupted affecting peoples ability to commute.

Scotrail have issued a warning this morning of which train routes are being impacted by the chaotic weather.

The Scotrail twitter account said: “There is disruption on many routes this morning due to extremely heavy rain.”

The routes affected are:

Edinburgh – Glasgow Central via Shotts
Edinburgh – Glasgow Queen Street via Falkirk High
Glasgow Queen Street – Alloa, Aberdeen and Inverness

 

 

The disruptions follow multiple flood alerts and a Met Office weather warning which earlier this week said posed a possible ‘danger to life’.

Drivers have also been facing delays due to the extreme weather.

Traffic Scotland said it had reports of flooding on the M74/A74(M) around Abington in South Lanarkshire, while just before 7am the entry slip at J13 was blocked due to a car stuck in water.

The delays come on top of already existing traffic chaos due to road closures in Glasgow city centre for COP26.

Find out about the road closures in the city here.

Scotland’s Transport Minister Graeme Dey said: “The conditions could potentially bring disruption to the trunk road and rail networks, so it’s important people plan their journeys before they set off.

“Motorists should make sure their routes are available, follow travel advice from Police Scotland and drive to the conditions. The Traffic Scotland twitter page is regularly updated and the mobile website – my.trafficscotland.org – lets people access the latest information.

“If you are planning to travel by rail, please check with your operator ahead of your journey. This is particularly important for cross-border travellers following the earlier disruption to services.”

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) reported almost 24mm of rainfall over 36 hours at Dalmarnock in Glasgow while the Eskdalemuir Observatory in the Borders recorded 79mm of rain in the same period – to 11pm on Wednesday.

Sepa has issued 17 flood warnings and five flood alerts mainly covering southern Scotland.

Scottish Borders council said that further rainfall predicted through the morning and into the afternoon is set to have an impact on river levels later in the day.

It said that the Teviot in Hawick has risen overnight, but is currently stabilising.

A further peak level is expected at around 11am, potentially around 2.8m, but is not expected to lead to property flooding.

A second, more significant peak of around 3m is forecast at around 5pm, although the council said this is “entirely dependent on the rainfall intensity and location during the course of the day”.

Pascal Lardet, flood duty manager for Sepa, said: “River and surface water flooding is likely, particularly in eastern Dumfries & Galloway and western Scottish Borders.

“There could be localised flooding to low-lying land and roads, disruption to travel and flooding in parts of communities. We are monitoring the situation closely with partners in areas such as Hawick, Newcastleton and Langholm.”