A railway line through Perthshire will be closed for a week after heavy rain washed away parts of the track.
Services between Glasgow, Oban and Mallaig have been cancelled and revised for the next seven days after Sunday’s dramatic downpour caused chaos to infrastructure between Crianlarich, Tyndrum and Oban.
The flooding caused the ballast which support the railway line’s sleepers to dislodge at five different spots along the West Highland Line.
The worst affected area was a “wash away” on the track between Ardlui and Crianlarich. A second site in this area was also damaged.
As well as main ‘wash away’ site between #Ardlui & #Crianlarich, we have 1 other damaged area in this section & a further 3 sections of flood damage between #Tyndrum & #Oban
Our teams are working to fix as soon as possible but early estimate suggests it could be seven days. pic.twitter.com/hXoUhDSLga
— NetworkRail Scotland (@NetworkRailSCOT) August 5, 2019
Three further spots between Tyndrum and Oban were hit by the flooding.
More than 1,000 tons of material has been displaced on the line through Perthshire.
Network Rail says the railway closure will be in place for the next seven days as “essential repairs” are carried out.
The line has been closed since Sunday night with services cancelled, and others either ending or starting at Crianlarich.
The tracks will need to be re-laid before normal service resumes.
Journeys are continuing to run between Mallaig and Crianlarich, and between Glasgow Queen Street, Arrochar and Ardlui.
NEW: Due to heavy rain there's severe flooding between #Tyndrum Lower and Dalmally, all lines toward Oban are closed. Staff are on-site monitoring the situation, updates to follow. pic.twitter.com/Zf8R1ltSci
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) August 4, 2019
UPDATE: Due to severe flooding between Tyndrum Lower and Dalmally yesterday the line between Crianlarich and Tyndrum Lower is still closed. A check of the line will take place around 0730. We're sorry for any inconvenience caused. Further info at https://t.co/J1m2DnhAEG ^Paul
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) August 5, 2019
ScotRail says the line has suffered “extensive damage” and requires “urgent repair”.
In a statement the firm added: “Due to heavy rain flooding the railway between Tyndrum Lower and Dalmally the line is closed. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.
“Network Rail continue to work hard to repair the damage caused to the railway by the significant flooding on the West Highland Line.
“At five separate sites between Ardlui and Crianlarich, and Crianlarich and Oban, the stones (ballast) that support the railway sleepers have been dislodged and washed away.
“The ballast is essential to a safe railway as it supports the track and helps drainage.
“Until these parts of the track have been re-laid, it is unsafe to operate trains on the line.
“Our Network Rail colleagues have advised that the current line closures will remain in place for the next seven days to allow the essential repair works to take place.
“We are sorry for the inconvenience this will cause some of our customers. From Tuesday (August 5) a temporary timetable will be in place to keep our customers moving where possible.”
Due to part of the railway being ‘washed away’ by severe flooding in the area, the line between #Crianlarich & #Tyndrum is closed.
Our teams are on site assessing damage and will update in due course. Please contact your train operator for service updates. @ScotRail @CalSleeper pic.twitter.com/s9Ig3F6UV3
— NetworkRail Scotland (@NetworkRailSCOT) August 5, 2019
A spokesman for Network Rail said: “Our engineers are working hard to fully assess the repairs required to reopen the line as quickly as possible for customers.
“The flooding over the weekend has caused significant damage at multiple locations along the line and we will need to rebuild the track-bed and supporting embankments in some locations before we can reopen the line.”
