Rail and ferry chaos as Storm Bert forces cancellations across Scotland

It’s led to issues on the railways and with ferries with ScotRail and CalMac both announcing cancellations, while the Queensferry Crossing has also been closed due to the conditions. 

An amber alert for heavy snow and ice is in force between 7am and 5pm on Saturday in areas across Scotland, where 10-20cm is likely on ground above 200 metres and potentially as much as 20-40cm on hills above 400 metres.

The weather warning covers parts of Angus, Perth and Kinross, Stirlingshire, Aberdeenshire and some of the Highlands, Argyll and Bute, the Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire.

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Christmas lights switch-ons have also been cancelled throughout the country because of the weather. 

As well as CalMac announcing their cancellations, the ferry between Northern Ireland and Scotland operated by P&O Ferries is also suffering issues.

The 4am between Larne and Cairnryan was cancelled while on the trains, there will be speed restrictions on the West Highland Line, Highland Mainline, Stranraer line, Glasgow South Western Line, Far North Line, and West Coast Mainline between Carstairs and the border.

ScotRail has withdrawn services from Inverness to Elgin, Aberdeen to Inverurie, and Glasgow Queen Street to Oban while trains from Glasgow Central to Carlisle will terminate at Dumfries.

Bus services have also been hampered, with Lothian Buses not running any at all in the capital.

A statement said: “Due to adverse weather across the network, buses are unable to continue due to safety concerns. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused, and thank you for your patience while our teams work to assess routes.” 

The Queensferry Crossing was closed around 10.20am after ice was observed falling from the bridge’s stay cables. 

The Queensferry Crossing has been closed as a safety precaution due to a risk of falling ice.

Dave Bishop, BEAR Scotland’s South East Unit Bridges Manager, said: “Safety is our top priority, so we always have patrols out monitoring for ice on the Queensferry Crossing’s cables when forecasts suggest this is a possibility.

“We’ve now observed ice falling so have taken the decision to close the bridge.

“A diversion via the Forth Road Bridge is currently being opened and we expect traffic to be on the move again within the hour. Drivers are advised to adhere to Red X signs for safety or there could be longer wait times for the diversion to be activated.

“We’re grateful to road users for their patience and understanding during this severe weather event. We’ll issue further updates in due course.”