The railway between Aberdeen and Dundee has reopened after sparking ‘major disruption’ for more than two hours.
ScotRail halted all services shortly before 1pm to investigate a track defect near Stonehaven.
A 20mph speed limit remains in place on the line going south, with commuters warned to expect disruption due to “trains and crew being out of position”.
Rail replacement buses were arranged between Aberdeen and Perth for services set to terminate at Glasgow Queen Street.
Services due to terminate at Edinburgh, Montrose and Inverurie were replaced by buses up until Dundee.
Network Rail posted on X at 3:21pm: “The line from Dundee towards Aberdeen is now open with trains permitted to run at normal speeds.
“The line from Aberdeen towards Dundee is also now open but with a speed restriction in place of 20mph.”
Disruption to continue following closure
Train operator ScotRail added: “Good news, both lines have now reopened.
“Check our app or website for service information.
“Please note we have mutual ticket acceptance in place with LNER until 1800 between Edinburgh and Aberdeen in both directions.
“Services are returning to run as scheduled, however due to trains and crew being out of position, some disruption will be ongoing for now.”