Road traffic and rail services were severely disrupted in part of the Scottish Highlands over the weekend following a landslip near Lochailort on Thursday evening.

 

Around 100t of stone and mud was washed onto the A830 carriageway and a 70m section of the single track rail line between Fort William and Mallaig after the mountainside above gave way due to heavy rainfall.

 

Both the road and railway are now back in operation following efforts to divert floodwater and clear the debris.

 

Road maintenance firm BEAR Scotland was able to partially open the A830 on Friday under traffic signal control. This allowed teams to safely clear remaining debris from culverts and ditches next to the carriageway over the weekend following a geotechnical investigation.

 

Meanwhile the rail line opened on Monday morning. A ScotRail Alliance spokesman said on Monday: “Services between Fort William, Mallaig and Glasgow Queen Street are now running following an earlier landslip.”

 

After clearing the track Network Rail Scotland engineers carried out work to replace ballast that had been washed away and stabilise the slope above to minimise the risk of future landslips.

 

During the closure trains between Glasgow Queen Street and Mallaig were terminating at and starting from Fort William, and a replacement bus service was in place between Fort William and Mallaig to keep passengers on the move.

 

“We are grateful to customers for their patience during the disruption,” a ScotRail Alliance spokesman said.

 

(Photo: Network Rail)