Clean-up begins to reopen travel routes after Storm Éowyn

Scotland's rail, road, and ferry networks remain heavily affected by the weather

Roads and rail lines are still closed after yesterday's rare Met Office red weather warning
Author: Molly TulettPublished 25th Jan 2025
Last updated 25th Jan 2025

The clean-up after Storm Eowyn is underway across Scotland, as travel services remain disrupted following Friday’s hurricane force winds.

The rare Met Office red weather warning has lifted, however it has now been replaced by a yellow warning for snow and ice across most of the country.

The First Minister is urging people to be patient, saying in a post to social media the clean-up operation will “take some time”.

Some rail services have resumed as lines are cleared, however Newtwork Rail Scotland said the “vast majority” of lines remain closed.

Damage to a vehicle on Cecil Street in Glasgow's West End

There have been 400 incidents of damage on the railways, including more than 120 trees and other debris being found on tracks, including part of a roof which has halted all services out of Glasgow Queen Street station after being found on the line.

ScotRail has warned “extensive damage” has been done to overhead lines in some areas, with four areas affected on the West Coast Main Line south of Carstairs, which engineers are assessing.

The rail operator says repairs will need to be made before services can resume safely.

Disruption is likely to continue across the weekend, but tickets for journeys disrupted by the storm will remain valid up to and including Tuesday January 28, while customers can also apply for a fee-free refund on any unused tickets.

Transport Scotland has warned that local roads may still be at risk of flooding or closure, urging travellers to check with local authorities for the latest information.

Damaged lorry on the Edinburgh Bypass

Bus services are also facing disruption, with passengers asked to check with operators before travelling.

Meanwhile CalMac says storm damage has docked all services on its Kennacraig, Port Askaig and Port Ellen route, as well as the Oban, Colonsay, Port Askaig and Kennacraig route to be cancelled on Saturday.

All sailings between Gourock and Dunoon have also been cancelled for the remainder of the weekend, with replacement buses running instead.

More than 30,000 households were still without power this morning, according to SP Energy Networks, with engineers working through the night to restore power to around 80% of those affected by the storm.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution said a "massive operation" was taking place to rectify a "huge amount of damage" to the electricity network.

Roads across Scotland have been closed as debris is removed following the storm

The company said that as at 11.30am on Saturday "almost 70,000" of its customers had been reconnected, and that work was ongoing to restore supplies to 20,000 more.

On a post on social media on Saturday morning SSEN said it had set up hot food and drink vans for those still without power.

The Met Office has issued fresh yellow weather warnings covering the whole of Scotland on Saturday and Sunday.

A yellow weather warning for wind in the far north and Orkney expired at 3pm on Saturday, while there is a yellow weather warning for wind in the northern and western Highlands from 6pm on Saturday to 6am on Sunday.

Fresh weather warnings for weekend

A yellow weather warning for snow and ice has also been issued for the far north and west of the country, beginning at 6pm on Saturday and expiring at 10am on Sunday.

Police Scotland said officers had responded to 1,900 weather-related incidents across the country on Friday, while the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said it had responded to around 300 incidents.

Schools and nurseries across Scotland were closed on Friday while non-urgent planned hospital procedures were postponed in NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Lothian.

Glasgow and Edinburgh airports also saw dozens of flights cancelled on Friday morning because of the weather conditions.

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