Rail services on the West Highland Line are returning to normal as engineers successfully recover their broken-down vehicle.
The Glasgow to Mallaig line was blocked in both directions this morning after a road to rail vehicle (RRV) developed a fault at Gorton, north of Crianlarich.
The vehicle, which can operate on both the rail tracks and the road, was being used to carry out engineering works between Bridge of Orchy and Rannoch at the time of the fault.
A road to rail vehicle used for engineering work has developed a fault at Gorton blocking the line. This means services are unable to run between Crianlarich and Fort William. Specialist teams will attend to remove the vehicle and we'll keep you updated. @CalSleeper @ScotRail
— Network Rail Scotland (@NetworkRailSCOT) February 8, 2022
Train services between Fort William and Crianlarich ground to a halt this morning as specialist teams from Network Rail were called in to assist in removing the vehicle from the tracks.
A replacement road to rail vehicle (RRV) was also drafted in to help with the operation.
Six hours after the fault was originally reported, the line has reopened.
Engineers carried out a swift examination of the line to assess for damages before deeming it safe to reopen.
Network Rail Scotland confirmed the news in a statement posted on their Twitter page.
They wrote: “The additional RRV has managed to recover the failed RRV. The track has also been examined and no damage has occurred. The line can now re-open.”
ScotRail is now working to restore order to the line, with commuters being warned to expect disruption until 4pm.
The first trains to run via Bridge of Orchy will be the 4.01pm service from Mallaig to Glasgow Queen Street followed by the 6.24pm service from Glasgow Queen Street to Mallaig.
UPDATE: The first trains to run via Bridge of Orchy will be the 1601 Mallaig to Glasgow Queen St and the 1824 from Glasgow Queen St to Mallaig.
Services to/from Oban are running normally. ^Angus
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) February 8, 2022
West coast commuters endure morning of disruption
ScotRail were forced to cancel all rail services between Crianlarich and Fort William after the “engineering works were not finished on time.”
However, services to Oban were not disrupted.
Replacement buses were put in place to ferry passengers between Crianlarich and Fort William.
Rail tickets were also being accepted onboard City Link busses between Glasgow and Fort William, to help minimise disruption to customers.
