Road and rail disruption as Storm Amy approaches

Travellers have been warned of disruption across Scotland later as Storm Amy is set to hit parts of the country with winds of up to 100mph in some exposed areas.

An amber warning has been issued for large parts of north and west Scotland from 17:00 to 09:00 on Saturday.

Several ScotRail and ferry services have been cancelled ahead of the storm’s arrival.

A Met Office yellow warning for heavy rain has also been issued for Scotland and Northern Ireland, with a forecast for 20-30mm of rain in a six to nine hour period.

In the amber warning area peak wind speeds of up to 70 mph are forecast to be widespread while exposed areas, particularly around Tiree, western Lochaber and Skye, could be hit by gusts of up to 100mph for a time this evening.

A wider yellow warning for winds to up to 60mph – and up to 70mph in exposed areas – has been issued for all of Scotland, Northern Ireland and large parts of north west England and Wales, from 15:00 to midnight on Saturday.

Scotland’s transport secretary Fiona Hyslop asked people to check before they travel.

She said: “We are urging people planning to travel on trains, ferries and flights to contact their operators to find out if their service is affected.

“Motorists will face difficult driving conditions, so it’s vital people plan ahead if they have to travel to see if their route is impacted by the weather.”

Transport disruption:

• Trains in the north of the country, including services between Perth-Inverness, Inverness-Aberdeen and Fort William-Crianlarich will be cancelled from 18:00.
• Speed restrictions will be introduced on all rail routes from 19:00.
• Traffic at the Rest and Be Thankful in Argyll has been diverted on to the Old Military Road. Traffic Scotland said it was monitoring conditions.
• Delays and cancellations to routes on CalMac’s west coast ferry network. It asked passengers to check its website for updates.
• Ferry crossings between Cairnryan to Northern Ireland cancelled from 12:00.

Police Scotland said a number of ferry crossings between Cairnryan, in Dumfries and Galloway, and Northern Ireland would be cancelled from 12:00.

The force advised those booked onto affected sailings not to travel to the area as long delays are expected.

Officers also said customers should check with Stena Line and P&O Ferries for updates.

Freight drivers are encouraged to contact port authorities for more information.

Network Rail said its specialist weather team would be closely monitoring the storm’s path and working with ScotRail to confirm the routes are most likely to be impacted.

David Ross, ScotRail chef operating officer, said many services in the north of the country would be severely impacted by the conditions.

He also warned problems may continue into the weekend due to trains being out of position and potential debris on the line.

Mr Ross told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland: “We find that during disruption, it is very difficult to secure replacement buses late on in the day when we have severe weather and severe wind.

“Colleagues will be out inspecting the tracks, they’ll be doing visual inspections from the air and if we find there are a significant number of trees down, that might take a bit longer to get services back up and running.”

He told the programme that passengers with pre-booked tickets for Friday could also use them on Saturday and Sunday.

Police Scotland’s Ch Supt Scott McCarren, head of road policing, said drivers should drive to the conditions and be aware of increased stopping distances.

Motoring organisation the AA also urged drivers to avoid taking risks.

The AA’s Shaun Jones said: “Storm Amy is shaping up to be a serious weather event, and we’re already seeing signs of disruption.”

Traffic Scotland operator manager Douglas Cairns urged anyone planning to travel to consider whether their journey was “absolutely necessary”.

He told Good Morning Scotland: “It comes down to that personal choice, whether you think it is safe, if you are competent and you’re not putting yourself and others at risk while you are travelling.

“If you are travelling, make sure you have sufficient equipment such as a warm jacket, you have food, your mobile phone is topped up with charge and that your vehicle is able to travel in the conditions.”

Power firm SSEN has issued its own yellow alert.

It said text messages were being sent to more than 180,000 of its more vulnerable customers, giving them help and advice in the event they lose power.

Meanwhile, the junior and mini Great Scottish Run on Saturday have been cancelled due to the weather warning.

Organisers said the strong winds and rain would create a risk of debris for the Glasgow Green events, which also included a toddler dash.