Lightning strike causes signal to fail at Brodie level crossing

Click here to sign up to our free newsletters![1] The crossing looking onto the A96. Picture by Brian Smith

The crossing looking onto the A96. Picture by Brian Smith

The crossing looking onto the A96. Picture by Brian Smith

THE extreme weather at the weekend played havoc with a local section of regional infrastructure.

The level crossing at the rail track in Brodie was struck by lightning during a torrential downpour on Sunday afternoon that later led to flash flooding in Forres.

Network Rail manage and maintain the infrastructure on Scotland’s Railway.

A spokesperson said: "The crossing was affected by a lightning strike which caused the signalling system to fail in the Inverness section of the Inverness-Aberdeen line.

"The strike occurred at around 3.45pm and caused significant disruption to services until the end of the day.

"Our signallers and engineers were aware of the impact on the crossing and worked with the council to manage access over the railway."

The local authority helped manage the situation.

A Moray Council spokesperson said: “Our officers closed the road at the request of Police Scotland.”

Scotrail confirmed the incident had no effect on rail services.

A spokesperson said: "The fault occurred while the barriers were in the down position, which prevented road vehicles from crossing."

References

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