Travellers are being warned of disruption on Thursday as Network Rail advises that trains in the West Highlands will start later than usual.
ScotRail services on the West Highland Line (Mallaig-Fort William/Oban – Glasgow Queen Street) and the Kyle of Lochalsh-Inverness line will face a delayed start.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for Scotland, Northern Ireland, Northern England and the Midlands from 12am until 9pm on Thursday.
Storm Pia is expected to bring winds reaching 80mph overnight, meaning the West Highland and Kyle lines will require inspections tomorrow morning.
This is due to the risk of high winds blowing trees and debris onto the tracks, which could block lines and potentially damage trains.
Replacement bus information:
The following coaches will be operated MacPhails coaches
0744 Fort William to Glasgow
0821 Glasgow to Fort William
1140 Fort William to Glasgow
1222 Glasgow to Fort William
1737 Fort William to Glasgow 1/2— ScotRail (@ScotRail) December 20, 2023
Passenger services on the Far North Line (Wick-Inverness) and Inverness-Inverurie line will also face a delayed start on Thursday.
Speed restrictions are also planned for the Highland Mainline and some other Central Belt, South-west Scotland and cross-border routes.
Network Rail has said that additional engineers will be deployed to help deal with any damage found and that engineering trains will be used to quickly inspect those lines that have been closed.
Passengers are being advised to allow more time for their journey and to check with their train operator before travelling.
Network Rail Scotland’s route director, Liam Sumpter said: “The safety of customers and colleagues is our first priority and that’s why we’ve stopped some trains from running on Thursday morning and slowed others down.
“High winds can cause trees and other debris to fall on to the track with the potential to damage our infrastructure and block lines. It’s important that we assess the impact of the severe weather before reopening lines and removing restrictions.
“We will reopen the affected routes as quickly as we can for our customers, but are urging passengers to check their journey before traveling.”
ScotRail service delivery director, David Simpson said: “Services on some routes will be significantly impacted by Storm Pia, and in addition to some cancellations on the routes most impacted, customers can expect short notice changes to their journeys.
“We will be working closely with our colleagues at Network Rail Scotland to ensure we are able to keep people moving as much as possible, but customers should also expect that their journeys will take longer than usual.
“We realise that many people will be travelling to see family and friends as Christmas approaches, and we would urge them to check their journey before they travel, on the ScotRail app, website, or social media channels.”
More information on changes to services will be available from www.nationalrail.co.uk or on the ScotRail website.