Train derails with 30 passengers on board after hitting landslide

Landslide: The train was derailed after hitting ten feet of mud across the tracks in Fife.SWNS Group

A train has derailed after hitting ten feet of mud that had washed across the tracks in a landslip in Fife.

Around 30 passengers and two crew members were on board the 2.17pm Newcraighall to Edinburgh service.

The front of two carriages came off the tracks between Rosyth and Dunfermline Town when it hit the landslip behind Pitreavie Industrial Estate in Dunfermline at 4.10pm.

No one was injured and everyone has been kept on board. Another train was dispatched to transfer the passengers, although the disruption is expected to continue, while replacement road transport is also expected to be used while the line remains closed.

A ScotRail spokeswoman said: "We are transferring passengers onto another train so that they can complete their journey to Edinburgh."

Meanwhile, all serviced between Inverkeithing and Glenrothes via Dunfermline have been cancelled. Buses are being brought in to operate the route and will be stopping at Rosyth, Dunfermline Town, Dunfermline Queen Margaret, Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly, Cardenden and Glenrothes with Thornton.

Emergency services attended the derailment to check over passengers and carriages.

A spokeswoman for Fife Fire and Rescue said: "Firefighters are in attendance of a train derailment at the back of Pitreavie Industrial Estate. We are currently carrying out checks on the train. So far no casualties have been reported."

Flooding closed several roads in Fife on Thursday after the deluge hit the region. Routes in Glenrothes and Dunfermline shut, while the A917 road in St Andrews, leading to the five-star Fairmont Hotel, has been forced to close because of a full carriageway flood.

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