Storm Gerrit brings disruption on road, rail and ferry networks
Yellow weather warnings are in place throughout Wednesday for much of northern, western and southern Scotland.
All train services between Edinburgh and Helensburgh Central have been cancelled as a result of a tree falling and blocking the railway at Dumbarton East.
Network Rail confirmed the tree had caught fire, affecting the overhead power lines.
(PA Graphics)
Network Rail Scotland said on X: “We’re responding to a tree on the line in the Dumbarton area.
“The tree is blocking the line and has caught fire, which is affecting overhead lines.
“The line is currently closed whilst we gain access to remove the tree and extinguish the fire.”
The line reopened shortly after 11am, but flooding at Bowling closed it again.
This is why the railway is closed at Bowling. There is very deep flooding at the station and it's unsafe for trains to run. @ScotRail pic.twitter.com/sngI92rXyV[1][2]
— Network Rail Scotland (@NetworkRailSCOT) December 27, 2023[3]
ScotRail warned passengers that Storm Gerrit is bringing “widespread disruption” to multiple routes across Scotland.
Speed restrictions are in place, and passengers are urged to check their journeys ahead of travelling.
There is also disruption on the ferry network, with NorthLink services across the Pentland Firth to Orkney cancelled as a result of the weather.
CalMac ferries are also subject to delay and suspension across the west coast, with those travelling urged to check if their services are operating.
On the roads, the A82 at Inverlochy near Fort William is closed due to a fallen tree.
The A82 is also closed at Milton, near Dumbarton, due to flooding.
UPDATE❗ ⌚12:08
⛔ CLOSED in both directions due to adverse weather conditions#UseAltRoute and delay travel if possible@NWTrunkRoads #StormGerrit pic.twitter.com/KRc22h9SNg[5][6][7][8]
— Traffic Scotland (@trafficscotland) December 27, 2023[9]
Heavy snow has closed the A9 at Dalnaspidal in Perthshire, with the wintry conditions also affecting other parts of the route.
The Tay Road Bridge is open to single-decker buses and cars only, with a 30mph limit in place.
The central walkway is closed.
Met Office chief meteorologist Frank Saunders said: “Storm Gerrit will run towards western UK on Wednesday and bring with it potential impacts for much of the UK.
“Winds across southern coastal areas of England will be strong, possibly peaking around 70mph on exposed coastlines, but more widely around 50-60mph within the warning area.
Here's some other images of the tree which is causing some disruption to services via Dumbarton just now. Teams have now removed the branches from the damaged pantograph, with efforts ongoing to remove the tree. pic.twitter.com/PcJzirjs4I[10]
— Network Rail Scotland (@NetworkRailSCOT) December 27, 2023[11]
“Rain is an additional hazard from Storm Gerrit, with active weather fronts leading to a wet day for many.
“Snow is also likely to cause problems for some northern areas – only briefly for a few upland routes across the Pennines and southern Scotland overnight and early on Wednesday, but more widely to the north of the central Lowlands later in the day.
“Here around 10cm to possibly 20cm of snow may affect some of the highest routes, this combining with very strong winds to lead to some difficult travel conditions.
“At lower levels a combination of heavy rain and very strong winds will dominate.”
References
- ^ @ScotRail (twitter.com)
- ^ pic.twitter.com/sngI92rXyV (t.co)
- ^ December 27, 2023 (twitter.com)
- ^ #A9 (twitter.com)
- ^ #UseAltRoute (twitter.com)
- ^ @NWTrunkRoads (twitter.com)
- ^ #StormGerrit (twitter.com)
- ^ pic.twitter.com/KRc22h9SNg (t.co)
- ^ December 27, 2023 (twitter.com)
- ^ pic.twitter.com/PcJzirjs4I (t.co)
- ^ December 27, 2023 (twitter.com)