Ferry and train travel disrupted as Scotland battered by strong winds amid Met Office weather warning

A yellow weather warning is in place for parts of Scotland, as strong winds disrupted road, train and ferry commuters on Wednesday morning.

The Met Office earlier said that the spell of strong winds would primarily affect travel, bringing the warning into force from 4am until 1pm on March 22.

The warning affects parts of central Scotland, Tayside, Fife, the Grampian region, the Highlands, and the Strathclyde region.

Wind speeds of up to 75mph have battered the country, which the Met has warned may combine with the morning high tide to cause some spray and large waves along some western coasts.

Network Rail confirmed early on Wednesday that train speeds had been restricted due to severe weather on parts of the West Highland Line.

This included trains on the West Coast Mainline, between Lockerbie and Kirtlebridge near the Scottish Borders.

NEW: Speed restrictions due to severe weather are in place on the West Highland Line and between Dumfries and Sanquhar. Your journey on these routes may take longer, or replaced in part by a bus. pic.twitter.com/g84hitcukz
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) March 22, 2023

The Corran Ferry, which provides transport to and from the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, also announced it had suspended all services until further notice.

Double decker buses have been stopped from going on the Tay Road Bridge, and a 30mph speed restriction was put in place for all other vehicles.

High Winds – Bridge Closed to Double Decker Buses only and a 30mph speed restriction in place.
— Tay Road Bridge (@tay_road_bridge) March 22, 2023

Commuters travelling on Erskine Bridge were warned of debris on the westbound carriageway around 8.30am, which was only cleared almost half an hour later.

The A82 Shantron to Luss road was also restricted due to a tree falling over.

STV meteorologist Sean Batty said earlier: “There could be as much as 20-30mm of rain across parts of Argyll and Stirlingshire, in places such as Tyndrum, Crianlarich, Taynuilt and Lochawe, although the persistent rain should be fairly short-lived.

“Temperatures will remain on the mild side for now, with highs of 14-15C possible along the Moray coast this afternoon. Even though spring officially sprung yesterday, colder weather is set to briefly return on Sunday with the risk of wintry showers returning.”