A major signalling failure has brought chaos to ScotRail services between Inverness and Aberdeen this morning, with additional disruption caused as Far North Line trains were cancelled due to a lack of available crew. The compounded disruption is hitting commuters, leisure travellers and, crucially, Aberdeen’s business community at the height of the summer tourist and event season.
ScotRail confirmed that “Due to a signalling fault in the Inverness area we are unable to run trains south of Inverness or between Inverness and Aberdeen. Services are subject to cancellation or delay”.
Network Rail Scotland echoed this, saying “Due to a signalling failure, there are currently no trains running between… Aberdeen and Inverness. We understand how frustrating this is”. Replacement buses were put in place, but confusion and long waits were reported.
Further north, services on the Far North Line were cancelled on Friday due to crew shortages, with ScotRail stating “ScotRail announced that the 11.58am Wick to Inverness train due at 4.15pm will be cancelled because of a shortage of train crew”. Local reports confirm flare-ups of crew shortages have become “all too common” this summer, compounding reliability concerns.
Local reports highlight growing concerns over frequent rail disruption in the region, with calls for urgent improvements for the benefit of passengers and the regional economy.
ScotRail has said it is “working round the clock” to restore services, but at time of writing disruption between Aberdeen and Inverness was expected to continue until at least mid-afternoon, with further delays to north-east services possible as train crews are reallocated.
