Rail services from Scotland’s capital to Dundee could be subject to delays or cancellation until the afternoon after a “signalling” fault affected journeys across the country.
ScotRail called off trains from Edinburgh to stations throughout Scotland following a “points failure” at Waverley Station on Wednesday morning, caused by freezing conditions, at about 6am.
As a result of the problem a number of services to Dundee were cancelled, along with with others to Fife, Glasgow, Dunblane and Tweedbank.
Though the track was fixed by rail workers in the morning, ScotRail said journeys to Dundee and Fife may be subject to cancellation, disruption and revisions until 4pm.
This is a result of trains and crews being left “out of position”.
UPDATE: Due to a fault with the signalling system earlier today between #Haymarket and Edinburgh disruption is expected until 16:00
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) December 27, 2017
Among the journeys called off as a result of the fault were: the 10.05am Edinburgh to Dunblane, the 10.08am Edinburgh to Glenrothes, the 11.39am Dundee to Edinburgh and the 11.29am Dunblane to Edinburgh.
The 10am Edinburgh to Dundee due in the city at 11.21am and the 10.38am Aberdeen to Glasgow trains were also cancelled due to “engineering works not being finished in time”.
However the 1.30pm and 2pm services from Edinburgh to Dundee both left on time, as did the 1.41pm and 1.49pm to Glenrothes and the 1.36pm and 2.37pm to Perth.
A post on ScotRail’s website said: “Due to a fault with the signalling system earlier today between Haymarket and Edinburgh disruption is expected until 4pm.
“Train services between Edinburgh and Dundee will be cancelled, delayed or revised.”
Points are sections of railway tracks which switch trains from one line to another.
Network Rail’s work required one part to be removed and replaced, which took until 10am to be completed.
A Network Rail spokesman said: “Our engineers were on site quickly to identify the issue, replace the faulty equipment and get trains on the move. We understand the inconvenience this caused and apologise for the disruption to passengers’ journeys.”
A ScotRail spokesman added: “Due to multiple points failures at Haymarket earlier this morning caused by very low temperatures, a number of services to and from Edinburgh faced disruption.
“Our teams are working flat out to get things back to normal. We know how frustrating this is for our customers, and we apologise for the impact this has on their day.
“We encourage customers to check @ScotRail, download our app or visit journeycheck.com/scotrail for the most up to date information.
“Customers delayed by 30 minutes or more are entitled to compensation by visiting our website.”
UPDATE: #Rutherglen services are returning to normal, but some disruption is still ongoing due to crews and units being out of position. Sorry if you're affected by this.
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) December 27, 2017
A Tweet from earlier today:
UPDATE: #Haymarket No services are able to run in or out of Edinburgh. ^M
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) December 27, 2017
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