PICTURE: Scale of Storm Babet flooding raises prospect of Highland railway disruption into next week
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A question appears to hang over whether some Highland railway lines will return to normal for the start of the working week after Network Rail Scotland revealed the scale of Storm Babet's flood imapct.
The Kyle and Far North Lines are shut today (Sunday) as part of already planned track maintenance.
But, in an update last night which was highlighted by ScotRail again on Sunday morning, Network Rail Scotland has revealed the extent of the clean-up work it faces.
On the Kyle of Lochalsh Line, it has published an aerial photograph of damage to the track at Lochluichart.
It said it planned to assess the damage on Sunday, but added that getting to the exact site will be "a challenge" because an access road to it has also been washed away in the Storm Babet floods.
In doing so, it appeared to raise the possibility that repairs may have to continue beyond Sunday. The newspaper has reached out for comment.
Related: PICTURE: Multiple road closures in Easter Ross as Storm Babet rains cause flooding misery
Elsewhere, it added that on the Far North Line it has no fewer than five separate sections of track which it will need to inspect following the floods, including a safety inspection of a rail bridge near Golspie which had experienced "extremely high water levels".
However, there was better news elsewhere, with Network Rail Scotland able to confirm that the entirety of the Inverness-Aberdeen line will be open again from Monday morning.
The track between Elgin and the Granite City had been closed during Storm Babet due to flooding.
The Highland Mainline has already reopened between Perth and Inverness.
In its statement, Network Rail Scotland said: "Aberdeen – Elgin we expect to reopen on Monday morning. Floodwater is above the rails near Inverurie and flooding at other locations too which we need to subside. Our local team will work all day [Sunday] to get the railway ready to reopen.
"[The] Kyle of Lochalsh line is closed until Monday for planned engineering work. Earlier, our helicopter found track damage at Lochluichart, which will be assessed by engineers [on Sunday]. Getting to the site is a challenge as an access road has been washed away.
"[The Far North Line] is also closed until Monday for planned work. We have five sections of track to inspect [on Sunday], and we'll also carry out a safety inspection on a rail bridge near Golspie, which we know has seen extremely high water levels.
"Thanks for your patience, we know it's been a difficult few days for areas affected by Storm Babet. We'll be out from first light, and our helicopter will be flying again to support teams on the ground."
