Gas leak emergency incident halts all Inverness trains and causes city centre road closure disruption
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A gas leak emergency from a train at Inverness halted all rail traffic in and out of the city this morning.
Considerable road and pedestrian disruption was also caused in the city centre because of the emergency
Police Scotland said that the gas leak was from a train at Inverness.
And the emergency situation also caused considerable road traffic disruption in the city centre with the Eastgate Centre underpass at Falcon Square being shut by police.
Traffic was also being stopped from entering Academy Street at the Chapel Street end, although traffic from Crown was being allowed along the major thoroughfare.
The Morrisons supermarket was evacuated and the car park was also cordoned off with police tape during the incident.
And it was repupils from nearby Millburn Academy were being kept in the school over lunch, as many of them walk about a mile to Morisons to buy snacks.
Police Scotland said: “Around 10.25am on Tuesday, 14 May, we were made aware of a gas leak from a train in the Millburn Road area of Inverness.
“Emergency services are in attendance and the public are asked to avoid the Millburn Road and Academy Street areas.
“The Eastgate Shopping Centre and Morrisons supermarket have been evacuated as a precaution.”
Pedestrians were also prevented from entering the Eastgate at the the Millburn Road end of the shopping centre.
One local woman said: “The area is crawling with police.”
Two local fire crews were also deployed to the city centre and are standing by.
An initial brief statement from ScotRail said: “Due to a gas leak near the railway, all lines to/from Inverness are closed.”
Later ScotRail said: “Ticket acceptance is in place with Stagecoach North Scotland Buses and Scottish Citylink services between Inverness, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.
“Bus replacements are also confirmed to run between Perth and Inverness. Customers are advised to check the ScotRail app, website, or social media channels for service updates.
Phil Campbell, ScotRail Customer Operations Director, said: “We are sorry to customers who have experienced disruption to their journey today.
“Anyone delayed by 30 minutes or more is entitled to compensation though our Delay Repay Guarantee. Just keep hold of your tickets and claim on the ScotRail website or mobile app.”
A passenger on board a Dingwall train due into Inverness around 10am said: “My train was halted at Muir of Ord and the dozens of passengers on board were told it was due to an emergency at the Inverness.
“I think buses were being laid on to Inverness, but I decided to buy a local service ticket as it would be quicker than waiting for replacement bus.”
