Thousands stranded as flooding and landslides bring train lines to a halt

Thousands have been left stranded as flooding and landslides brought major train lines to a halt.

Some trains on the east coast line between England and Scotland have been cancelled while replacement bus services are in place following a train derailment in the Highlands.

The 24-wagon train came off the tracks near Tulloch just after 7pm on Thursday, blocking the West Highland line between Crianlarich and Mallaig.

A spokeswoman for British Transport Police said the train was derailed because of a landslide. She said the driver was badly shaken by the incident, but he was not physically injured. No one else was hurt.

ScotRail's Caledonian sleeper service from Fort William to London Euston, which had been due to run overnight, was cancelled and trains between Crianlarich and Mallaig were also suspended.

Network Rail said the remote location would make it difficult to recover the derailed train and it is not known when services will resume. The line remains closed on Friday morning.

At Glasgow Central Station, queues of passengers snaked around the exterior of the station down to the bottom of Hope Street as thousands of commuters waited for alternative services.

All flights from both Glasgow and Edinburgh to all London airports are fully booked on Friday.

Passengers were evacuated after a fire started in the engine of the 5.20pm between Birmingham and Glasgow service. The train, operated by Virgin, was forced to stop near Moffat, in Dumfries and Galloway, at about 10.20pm on Thursday. The fire was isolated to the front of the train, and all of the passengers were moved to the rear before an emergency evacuation took place.

Virgin said it had been a "minor engine fire" and that all of its customers were taken to Lockerbie station and then on to Glasgow. Three appliances from Dumfries and Galloway Fire and Rescue Service attended the incident but there were no injuries reported.

A spokeswoman for the company said: "Virgin Trains confirms that its 5.20pm Birmingham-Glasgow Central service had a fire in one of the front coaches of a double voyager. This happened between Lockerbie and Beattock. All customers were quickly moved to the rear of the train and everyone was evacuated safely."

Jo Swinson, MP for East Dunbartonshire, who had been travelling on the service, tweeted updates on the incident from her @joswinson Twitter account. Just after 11.30pm she tweeted: "Evacuation now complete after train fire nr Moffat, all passengers & staff now warm, dry and safe on rear train, emergency services here."

Trains are running between Glasgow and Oban but with disruptions. A replacement bus will run between Glasgow and Crainlarich. There has also been a landslip between Ardlui and Arrochar.

Trains on east and west coast lines were cancelled on Thursday night and many remain out-of-service on Friday morning.

One service an hour started running again between Edinburgh and Newcastle from midday on Friday. They will leave London on the hour and Edinburgh at half part the hour.

A statement on the East Coast Trains website said: "From approximately 12:00 East Coast trains will able to resume between Newcastle and Edinburgh."

The flooding and landslip at Berwick has meant there are no East Coast services to and from Glasgow Central or Inverness. Some CrossCountry services are affected.

ScotRail services in the West Highlands are being badly delayed by a freight train derailment between Tulloch and Corrour, and a landslip has occurred between Ardlui and Arrochar.

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