Monday commuters are set for more rail disruption in the wake of Storm Eowyn as engineers battle to reopen lines.
Crews have been dealing with an unprecedented 500 incidents over the weekend brought on by ferocious 100mph winds that swept across the country in a rare “danger to life” red weather alert.
Friday saw a complete shut down of the entire rail network as the country braced themselves for the larges storms in decades. Network Rail have had engineers out tackling a painstaking clear-up after fallen trees, trampolines and even garden sheds were blown onto tracks – wreaking havoc on vital transport routes.
Over the weekend some lines have been able to reopen, with the key Glasgow to Edinburgh route back in operation as of Sunday. However, trains in Ayrshire and Inverclyde remain grounded.
Rail bosses have admitted some repairs are not a “quick fix” with major works required to get services running again. ScotRail say that disruption is expected to continue into Monday.
A ScotRail spokesperson today said: “Network Rail hopes to reopen more routes this evening and first thing tomorrow morning after further repair works have been carried out, but there will be disruption into Monday.
“Anyone who is unable to use their tickets, or has made alternative arrangements, is entitled to a full refund on their unused train tickets, with no admin charge. Alternatively, tickets already purchased can be used up to and including Friday, 31 January 2025. Customers should visit ScotRail.co.uk for details of how to claim a refund.”
In total Network Rail have revealed that 500 incidents were discovered from surveying work carried out to asses the damage left behind from Storm Eowyn. There were 120 reported incidents of trees falling onto the tracks.
Ross Moran, Route Director for Network Rail Scotland, explained that Storm Eowyn had caused a “significant amount of damage” particularly to lines in the Central Belt and the West Coast Mainline.
Mr Moran said: “I am very grateful to our teams who have worked around the clock right across the country since Friday, when winds of up to 100mph have caused over 400 incidents across the railway. We’ve been dealing with over 120 trees coming down on the rail line, as well as trampolines and sheds that have been blown on the tracks, all of which we have to remove safely.
“We’ve also seen extensive damage to the overhead lines, power supplies, tracks, stations, depots and boundary fences, and we need to repair them so services can run safely.
“Network Rail teams have made significant progress, reopening the Edinburgh to Glasgow mainline, the East and West Coast Mainlines, Fife, the Borders Railway, all routes north of Perth, and Glasgow Central to Paisley, so freight and passenger trains can start to run again.
“Work continues today to open the busy low-level networks through Glasgow Queen Street and Glasgow Central now the overhead wire damage has been fixed on that route.
“We do still have a significant challenge in the west and Lanarkshire, with severe damage to our overhead wires in Motherwell, Ayrshire and Inverclyde.
“In Kilwinning, one our masts which carries the wires was knocked down by a falling tree and needs specialist work to repair it. That is not a quick fix.
“Work continues today and our helicopter is out inspecting routes to direct teams on the ground to where they need to be. We’re working closely with passenger and freight operators and will continue to keep you updated on progress.
“It has been a really challenging few days and we do thank you for your patience.”
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