Trains were brought to a standstill in the Inverness area after signals were affected by lightning strikes.
ScotRail closed the line between Inverness and Inverness Airport and the Highland Main Line between the city and Aviemore due to the fault on Sunday.
Some early morning services out of Inverness on Monday were also affected
Normal service resumed early on Monday morning before another fault, this time with the track, developed at Carrbridge.
Currently no trains are running between Inverness and Carrbridge, with disruption expected to last until 10am.
NEW: An issue with the track has been reported north of Carrbridge, @NetworkRailScot staff are on their way to investigate. In the meantime, we can't run any trains between Carrbridge & Inverness. ^Angus pic.twitter.com/zNGhVfp7KP
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) June 12, 2023
Services between Inverness and Glasgow/Edinburgh were most affected by the lightning strikes, with trains from Inverness to Thurso and Wick unaffected.
The fault occurred as a yellow Met Office warning for thunderstorms remains in place covering the Highlands, Moray and parts of Aberdeenshire.
The warnings are in force until 9pm tomorrow.
⚠️ Yellow weather warning issued ⚠️
Thunderstorms across parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland
Monday 1200 – Monday 2100Latest info 👉 https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs
Stay #WeatherAware⚠️ pic.twitter.com/okOGCOhGaV— Met Office (@metoffice) June 11, 2023
Rail engineers work to uncover fault
Network Rail engineers were on site last night working to uncover the fault, with a number of parts needing to be replaced.
In a statement, posted on Twitter, Network Rail Scotland said testing on the line was under way to try and pinpoint the fault and restore power.
They wrote: “Testing continues to establish the root cause of failure following the earlier lightning strike.
“We’re sorry for any disruption this has caused to your journey today. Staff remain on site as further testing continues to resolve the loss of power in the Inverness area.”
What Inverness ScotRail services are affected by lightning?
Train services operating between Inverness, Aberdeen and the central belt were subject to cancellation or revision due to the fault.
ScotRail staff were busy working on arranging alternative arrangements for those travelling to and from Inverness.
Passengers were allowed to use their train tickets on the Stagecoach 10 service from Inverness to Aberdeen.
ℹ️ UPDATE: We’re still trying to get buses at Perth for customers wanting to travel north. If you can, please make your own arrangements or defer travel to tomorrow – tickets will be valid. We're sorry for the inconvenience caused by a lightning strike on signalling equipment.
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) June 11, 2023
Coaches were booked to assist passengers at Aviemore.
Rail bosses also tried organising coaches for passengers travelling north from Perth.
However, they are encouraging passengers to travel tomorrow, if possible, due to the ongoing disruption.
Flash flooding alerts exteneded
Following days of hot dry weather, heavy rain has swept across the country with thunderstorms.
Pockets of heavy downpours have been experienced across the Highlands, Moray and Aberdeenshire throughout Sunday.
Thundery showers across the country today and the start of next week can create higher volumes of water on roads, causing difficult driving conditions. Never try to drive through flood water, it could be deeper than you think.
Keep informed with flooding https://t.co/8brApFajIP pic.twitter.com/rIIAuX0aoo
— SEPAFlood (@SEPAFlood) June 11, 2023
Sepa has issued extended flood warnings into Monday as the risk of heavy showers continues.
The agency has issued amber warnings for almost the entire country, specifically warnings about the risk of thundery downpours.
Drivers have been urged to take care while out on the roads with home owners also urged to be aware of dangers from fast-flowing water.
Met Office forecasts show most of the rain in the morning will be confined to the north-west Highlands.
However, the heaviest rain will develop from about 12noon, initially in the Easter Ross area, before further intense periods of rain develop over the Cairngorms at about before moving further north towards Buckie, Banff and Fraserburgh.
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