Storm Floris disruption continues as fallen trees block railway and homes without power

Latest updates

22,000 properties in the north and north east of Scotland are still without power after Storm Floris
SSEN said it had restored power to 50,000 properties since the onset of the storm
Network Rail said four routes remain closed while 30 others have been reopened
Hundreds of trees fell onto railway lines disrupting train travel
Storm Floris brought unseasonably strong winds with gusts of up to 90mph

Disruption to travel routes due to Storm Floris continued on Tuesday, with fallen trees blocking railway lines and thousands of homes still without power.

ScotRail warned passengers that disruption is expected to continue due to the clear-up operation following “unseasonably” strong winds on Monday.

The amber weather warning was issued for much of the country, lasting from 10am until 11pm. A second yellow alert, covering the whole of Scotland, was in place until midnight on Monday.

A third yellow weather warning is in force covering Orkney and Shetland until 8am on Tuesday.

Storm Floris had a significant impact on Scotland’s Railway, including damage to overhead lines and trees falling on tracks across the country.

Disruption to travel routes due to Storm Floris continued on Tuesday, with fallen trees blocking roads. STV News

On Tuesday, Network Rail engineers were sent to the Highland Main Line after finding multiple fallen trees at several locations.

Crews worked through the night to clear debris from the tracks at Bishopton and Milngavie after dealing with “hundreds” of blockages.

SSEN said its network in the north of Scotland had been” significantly affected” across a wide number of areas, particularly in the Highlands, the Moray coast, and Aberdeenshire.

As of 7:15 a.m. on Tuesday, power had been successfully restored to 50,000 homes, with work ongoing to restore supplies to the remaining 22,000 properties.

A statement read: “Our teams worked for as long as the light permitted last night, and were deployed again early this morning, with the support of helicopters to assess the network from above.

“Expanded teams in our control room and customer contact centre also worked through the night to reroute supplies remotely where possible and answer customer queries.

“This has been a particularly damaging storm, and we’ll be working hard to reconnect customers as safely and quickly as we can – but it will take time. We thank people for their patience and understanding while we do this.”

Meanwhile, fire crews from Oban responded to reports of a dangerous building in Fort William.

Traffic Scotland confirmed that no high-sided vehicles are permitted on the Kessock Bridge, and the Dornoch Bridge has reported high winds. The Corran Ferry also remains off.

With gusts of up to 90mph in some parts of the country, ScotRail says a significant operation will take place to inspect lines and carry out repair work before returning to full service.

Ross Moran, Network Rail Scotland’s route director, said: “Storm Floris has caused significant disruption to Scotland’s Railway, with wind speeds of up to 90mph, unprecedented for a summer storm. Our teams have been working tirelessly to keep services moving where possible and to clear fallen trees and debris from the tracks.

“As the storm passes later this evening, our focus switches to inspecting routes which have been closed by fallen trees, debris and other damage.

“Our teams will work through the night, but this work will continue into Tuesday morning. We’ll use two helicopters to assist engineers on the ground. We’re grateful to passengers for their patience whilst we do this.”

The Scottish Government held an emergency meeting in response to the “significant disruption”, which included 119 rail incidents.

On Monday night, the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room held the meeting to help decide an appropriate response to the storm, which has led to power outages, delays in exam results being delivered to pupils and travel disruption, amid other issues.

During the meeting, ministers heard that utility companies are working to reconnect properties experiencing power outages.

Following the meeting, Ms Constance said: “As expected, there has been significant disruption, particularly across the travel networks.

“We are still in an amber warning, and the advice remains to stay well informed, keep yourselves and others safe and avoid travel if you can, until the danger has passed.

“Power cuts are affecting a significant number of properties, and while utilities companies are working hard to reconnect supply in the face of challenging conditions, this will undoubtedly take some time to complete.

“The weather is expected to improve tomorrow, but the recovery period – both to reconnect homes to power and get transport back to normal – will require some time to clear the debris.

“We will continue to receive updates throughout Tuesday and will have a better idea on public transport tomorrow morning.”