Images reveal scale of flood damage on Edinburgh to Glasgow train line near Polmont

The scale of the damage caused to the main Edinburgh to Glasgow railway line after the Union Canal breached has been revealed in images released by Network Rail.

A 300 metre section of the track between Linlithgow and Polmont was damaged when torrents of water from the Union Canal cascaded through a breach and down hill onto the line early last Wednesday morning.

With flood water subsiding from the tracks engineers have had the opportunity to full inspect the damaged track and teams will be working around the clock to repair the damage.

Initial assessments indicate that it could take two months to reinstate the line, however engineers will continue to investigate the extent of the damage before confirming a final estimate for restoring services on the line.

As the images show, the force of thousands of gallons of water flowing from the breached canal has completely washed away sections of track and undermined embankments.

The power of the water also undermined and washed away overhead electrification masts and damaged others, while leaving dozens of uprooted trees strewn across the tracks.

The canal water has also contaminated more than a kilometre of track and ballast which will need to be replaced.

The unprecedented rainfall over night caused a 30 metre breach of the Union Canal near Whitecross and Muiravonside last Wednesday morning with the water flooding the main railway line.

Following the incident the Network Rail team liaised with Scottish Canals and the priority initially was to secure the canal to stop the flow of water.

This was achieved on Friday morning after clay dams were built.

Inspections on the railway line over the weekend have revealed the true scale and extent of the damage which has prompted the advice to passengers of ongoing disruption on the route for some time.

Kevin McClelland, Network Rail route delivery director, said: “We are working with our asset engineers and specialist contractors to assess the scale and extent of the damage and what we will need to do to safely reinstate the railway.

“It is remarkable to see the destructive power of the flowing water and the extent of the flooding and the scale of the damage is something I have never witnessed before on the railway.

"We are grateful to our colleagues at Scottish Canals for their prompt response in dealing with this unprecedented incident.

“We are working as quickly as possible to complete these repairs and to get passengers back onto the railway.”

As a result of the line closure, rail replacement buses are currently serving stations on the line.

Trains are running between Glasgow Queen Street and Falkirk Grahamston with a rail replacement service in operation between Falkirk Grahamston and Edinburgh.

Customers who would normally use Falkirk High station are advised to use Falkirk Grahamston.

Services on the Edinburgh to Dunblane line are also affected with trains running between Dunblane and Falkirk Grahamston before passengers should travel by rail replacement bus between Grahamston and Edinburgh Park.

Full information can be found at https://www.scotrail.co.uk/major-disruption-due-extreme-weather

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