Speed restrictions on trains due to "extreme rainfall"
Rail passengers have been warned to expect longer journey times
Last updated 17th Nov 2022
Rail passengers have been warned to expect longer journey times when speed restrictions are brought in on some routes due to forecasts of "extreme rainfall".
ScotRail said more than a month's worth of rain is expected to fall in many areas across eastern Scotland between Thursday and 7am on Saturday.
Yellow alert for rain
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning of rain for eastern Scotland which is in force from 3pm on Thursday until 6pm on Friday, while an amber "heavy rain" weather warning is in force for Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus and Perth and Kinross from midnight on Thursday until 3pm on Friday.
The yellow alert warns of rainfall building up across the high ground of eastern Scotland, with 50-70mm expected and up to 100mm possible across the hills of Angus and Aberdeenshire.
Up to 150mm of rain
Forecasters said the area covered by the amber warning could see more than 100mm of rain, and even 150mm in parts of the Grampians and Cairngorms.
Network Rail Scotland said it will impose speed restrictions on some routes for safety reasons from Thursday afternoon "due to the extreme rainfall that's been forecast", and journey times on those services will take longer.
Parts of the Edinburgh to Aberdeen, Stirling to Dundee and Ladybank to Perth routes will be affected, as will part of the Highland Main Line and the East Coast Main Line between Edinburgh Waverley and Berwick.
ScotRail Tweet
The Met Office yellow warning covers Central, Tayside and Fife, Grampian, Edinburgh, the Lothians and the Scottish Borders, as well as Northumberland in north east England.