Highland Mainline closed as heavy rain brings flooding and hazardous conditions

A major railway line in the Highlands has been closed after heavy downpours caused flooding and hazardous conditions.

Services between Inverness and Perth have been cancelled due to dangerous water levels on the railway.

Network Rail said the Highland Mainline had been closed at Kingussie due to dangerous water levels at the Gynack Burn and Balavil Burn, leaving it “well above” safe limits for trains to run.

An amber weather warning for heavy rain and flooding is in place for Moray and the Highlands until 5pm on Tuesday.

Network Rail is also dealing with 15 flooding incidents on the Far North Line – which has been closed at Dunrobin Castle due to debris washed onto the tracks – a landslip near Brora and is monitoring Dalguise viaduct over the Tay.

ScotRail said ticket acceptance is in place with Stagecoach buses between Inverness and Dingwall/Wick while the cancellations are ongoing.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has issued multiple flood warnings and said Scotland will see “significant flooding impacts” in the coming days as more persistent and heavy rain arrives.

Yellow weather warnings for rain, wind and snow are in place for almost all of Scotland on Tuesday, leading to Edinburgh’s outdoor Hogmanay celebrations being cancelled.

STV meteorologist Sean Batty said the Northern Isles will face “particularly” challenging conditions, with heavy rain turning back to snow as colder air arrives.

“Heavy rain here will turn back to snow as colder air begins digging back south and could lead to blizzard conditions given the strong winds,” he said.

He added that the whole country will also experience strong winds, with gales in the north and west and further spells of heavy rain—particularly across the Highlands.

“Later in the day the rain will turn more showery for most, although rain in the north will readily turn to snow into the evening,” he said.