Multiple crashes have been reported across Scotland on Wednesday as heavy rainfall enters it’s third day.
With “extreme levels” of rain continuing to fall in western parts of the country, speed restrictions have been imposed on train lines and surface water and flood warnings issued to drivers.
At 6.00am on Wednesday, Traffic Scotland reported that the A78 was closed in both directions in Greenock, Inverkip Road, due to flooding.
An update was issued at 7.20am, revealing that traffic was moving but the road remains restricted.
ScotRail warned there will be “severe disruption” on the West Highland Line on Wednesday due to “extreme weather” and only some services will run.
They announced that due to “high levels of water” in the Branchton area the line has been closed.
Speed restrictions are in place on some routes on the western side of the country after “extreme rainfall overnight”, Network Rail said.
They confirmed that Glasgow Central – Wemyss bay services will start and terminate at Port Glasgow.
At 9.30am, the A78 near Inverkip was closed due to flooding. The road has since partially reopened, with lane one still shut due to debris.
At 9.20am, it was confirmed that lane two was blocked on the M8 near junction 13 – due to a two vehicle collision.
At 9.45pm on Tuesday, the Westbound carriageway on the M8, near junction 23, was closed due to a serious collision.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 9.10 pm on Tuesday, 19 September 2023, police were called to a single vehicle, non-injury road crash westbound on the M8 at J22, Dumbreck Glasgow.
“The road was closed until approximately 10.10 pm to allow for debris removal and vehicle uplift.
“Enquiries are ongoing.”
At around 5.15pm on Tuesday, Police closed Edinburgh’s South Bridge due to reports of a crash which required a large emergency service response.
Liam Sumpter, route director at Network Rail Scotland, said: “For safety reasons, we need to impose speed restrictions on areas of the West Highland Line, Kyle of Lochalsh Line, West Coast Main Line and Kilmarnock – Carlisle.
“We have additional frontline teams working to check flood pumps and remove any debris on or near the railway.
“Our control room team will also be monitoring the weather in real-time and if conditions improve, we’ll remove the speed restrictions sooner.”
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