Train services suspended as sinkhole appears under track

A sinkhole underneath a train track in Fife has caused rail services to be suspended.

The dip of about a metre opened up below the line at Leuchars on Monday morning, with a "possible track defect'' reported at around 10.30am.

ScotRail services between Aberdeen and Edinburgh were instead starting and terminating at Dundee, with a shuttle bus service in operation.

Network Rail shared a tweet with pictures of the sinkhole, confirming engineers were at the scene.

It said: "A sinkhole has caused a dip to open up below one of the lines at Leuchars.

"It's around a metre deep & will require 3 tonnes of ballast (stones to go below the track) to fill.

"Disruption is likely to last until the end of the day.''

A ScotRail spokesman said: "We're sorry to our customers who have experienced disruption to their journey today.

"Engineers are working as quickly as possible to repair the sinkhole and get services back to normal.

"Anyone delayed 30 minutes or more can claim money back through the Delay Repay Guarantee on our website or mobile app.''

Caledonian Sleeper said on Twitter: "Due to a sinkhole at Leuchars, we are unable to run our usual route south of Dundee and the train will be diverted via Perth.

"We will attempt to contact all guests who were due to join the train at Dundee, Leuchars, Kirkcaldy and Inverkeithing for alternative arrangements.''

LNER and CrossCountry services are also affected.

Hear all the latest news from across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and Falkirk on Forth 1. Listen on FM, via the Rayo app, on DAB or on your smart speaker.