Part of Inverness city centre which was evacuated due to a gas leak at the train depot has reopened.
Inverness train station and the nearby Eastgate Shopping Centre and Morrisons have all reopened after being evacuated earlier today.
SGN has confirmed that engineers have fixed the leak on the affected tank and the station and nearby buildings have been reopened.
Firefighters were sent to the scene of the incident which involved a freight train at Inverness Maintenance Depot.
Trains were unable to operate in or out of the station for several hours due to safety concerns.
Traffic built up in Inverness
Traffic was unusually heavy around Inverness at lunchtime with Millburn Road blocked between the Eastgate Shopping Centre and the Millburn roundabout.
There were police cars, officers and tape dotted all around the area.
In the train station itself, the seating area was packed with people looking at a board of cancellations and anxiously waiting for some good news.
Iain MacLennan works at a bank across the road from Inverness train station but only found out about the incident by text an hour after it was reported.
He said: “No one has told us anything about it, we’re just seeing the police tape like everyone else. It’s business as usual here.”
Travel plans thrown into chaos
Tim and Toni Shuster’s plans were thrown into disarray when news of the train cancellations broke.
The couple had been due to get a train to Edinburgh ahead of a return flight to their home in Hawaii.
Fortunately, they managed to secure a car rental and were planning to drive instead.
Tim said: “Our flight is tomorrow so we need to get there, renting a car is our plan B.
“But it’s a vacation. We’ve just got to take it in our stride.”
Michelle Alt from Colorado Springs is on holiday in Scotland with her daughter.
They arrived in Inverness from Wick this morning to find Academy Street closed and gridlocked.
She said: “I wasn’t expecting all this traffic. The journey down was fine, there didn’t seem to be any problems.
“We’re heading to London by train tomorrow so as long as it’s fixed by then we’ll be happy.”
Inverness city centre reopens after evacuation
Dan Brown, spokesperson for gas company SGN said: “We responded to a gas escape at Inverness railway station involving a train carrying tanks which supply our network in northern Scotland.
“Our engineers isolated a damaged section of the pipework on the affected tank and made safe.
All rail services in and out of Inverness can now resume.”
Police shared a statement online saying: “Around 10.25am on Tuesday, May 14, we were made aware of a gas leak from a train adjacent to the Millburn Road area of Inverness.
“Emergency services attended. A number of roads and premises were closed as a precaution. A small number of homes were also evacuated as a precaution.
“Roads were re-opened around 1.20pm and public access to buildings restored.”
Chief Inspector Judy Hill, area commander, said: “We would like to thank the public for their patience and understanding as we worked alongside partners to ensure the area was made safe.”
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We received a call at 10:21am to attend an incident in the Millburn Road area of Inverness.
“An ambulance and two special operations response teams (SORT) were dispatched to the scene.”
ScotRail services return to normal
ScotRail has confirmed that they are now able to run trains safely in and out of Inverness train station.
Phil Campbell, ScotRail Customer Operations Director, said: “We are sorry to customers who have experienced disruption to their journey today.
“Anyone delayed by 30 minutes or more is entitled to compensation through our Delay Repay Guarantee.
“Just keep hold of your tickets and claim on the ScotRail website or mobile app.”
Network Rail Scotland wrote on X: “We’re working with the emergency services who are dealing with an incident involving a freight train at Inverness Depot.
“All lines to/from Inverness are currently closed, and we’ll share more details as soon as we can.”
Gas leak near railway at Inverness closes all lines
One resident said: “I was travelling on the 8.38am train from Edinburgh to Inverness when we stopped at Perth at around 10am.
“Although the conductor was very informative of what was happening, we were left inside the train for half an hour until we were told the train had been cancelled and that they had called for replacement buses.
“However, once outside the station we were told we may need to wait for over an hour as the buses were being sent from Edinburgh.
“When someone asked if the buses would have space for everyone the customer service person said ‘I hope so’.
“There are dozens of people waiting outside the station as the train was full.”
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