A nightmare – whether by road, rail, sea or air

TRAVEL became extremely difficult for drivers and passengers on roads and railways across central and northern Scotland, due to obstacles in their path.

Landslips added to the problems on the A82 south of Fort William, while fallen trees and overturned vehicles shut stretches of the same road to the north and of the A9 between Perth and Inverness. The closure of the Forth, Tay and Erskine bridges caused some of the biggest traffic problems.

Motorways affected included stretches of the M9 near Edinburgh and Stirling, and the M80 near Falkirk. Even service areas were shut, including at Harthill on the M8 following damage to a building.

Flooding provided another hazard, especially in Ayrshire, Inverclyde and north of Glasgow.

Passengers at Edinburgh airport suffered 80 cancelled flights, while 45 were grounded at Glasgow.

Trains on many routes were delayed by speed limits and by obstructions such as fallen trees being cleared from lines or wind damaging overhead power lines. Rescue trains were sent to transport some passengers.

The disruption added one and a half hours to Glasgow-London services operated by Virgin Trains on the west coast main line.

Virtually no ferries sailed, with almost the entire CalMac-operated fleet stormbound on the west coast, along with many Scotland-Northern Ireland ferries and those between Aberdeen and the Northern Isles.