Rail services in the north-east have faced a day of disruption after a broken down maintenance vehicle blocked the railway line.
Network Rail had been making improvements to the Aberdeen to Dundee railway line overnight.
The line was due to reopen to commuters between Laurencekirk and Stonehaven this morning.
However, rail bosses were forced to cancel all train services due to a broken down maintenance vehicle blocking the line.
On-site staff carried out a host of repairs to the vehicle, which broke down between Laurencekirk and Carmont.
UPDATE: Services are returning to normal.
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) September 28, 2022
ScotRail bosses have confirmed train services are now returning to normal as the line is cleared.
However, passengers are still enduring the affects of the closure as rail bosses cancelled a host of services between Aberdeen and Montrose.
A number of services between Inverurie and Aberdeen have also been cancelled in light of the disruption.
The 11.09am service departing from Aberdeen and the 11.29am service from Inverurie to Aberdeen were cancelled.
‘There were a lot of sighs of relief’
Press & Journal reporter Ben Hendry was among dozens of passengers stranded this morning as train services between Aberdeen and Edinburgh ground to a halt.
He said staff and passengers were left completely in the dark about the nature of the disruption.
He said: “There were dozens of passengers on the train already at about 5.50am when we heard that it was cancelled. Quite frustrating for that time of day.
“At that time nobody, including staff, knew what had happened and it was blamed on ‘engineering work’.
“We were warned there would be difficulty sourcing replacement buses on a school day – and told the line could stay shut as late as 10.30am.
“Eventually there were a lot of sighs of relief when we got a replacement train at about 7am. We’re now arriving in Edinburgh about an hour later than planned.”
What services are being impacted by the disruption?
All train services between Aberdeen and Montrose were cancelled this morning as a result of the disruption.
Commuters travelling from Aberdeen to Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow were being warned to expect severe disruption and cancellations.
Train services bound for Aberdeen were terminated at Perth and Dundee amidst the disruption.
Bosses also pulled the plug on the 8.41am train service from Glasgow to Aberdeen.
Meanwhile, trains travelling to Inverurie from Montrose were scheduled to set off from Aberdeen and will no longer call at Portlethen, Stonehaven, Laurencekirk and Montrose.
Commuters travelling north to Inverness also experienced disruption.
The 5.39am service from Dundee to Inverness was rerouted to begin from Aberdeen instead.
Rail tickets were being accepted on local bus routes to help minimise disruption to passengers.
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