A large section of Scotland’s busiest railway line was washed away after thousands of gallons of water poured across it during major floods.
Disruption continues on the Edinburgh to Glasgow route after a 300m section of the track near Polmont was badly damaged during stormy weather on August 12.
Torrential downpours caused a nearby canal to burst its banks with the powerful waves of escaping water washing away the ground beneath the railway line.
Overhead electrification masts were also knocked over and uprooted trees were left strewn across the tracks during the ‘biblical’ lightning storm.
A 1km section of the busy train line - between Polmont and Bo’ness - will also need to be replaced after being ‘contaminated’ by flood water.
The canal - which suffered a 30m breach on a section of its banks - was fixed by Scottish Canals staff on Friday.
Network Rail staff have now carried out assessments of the line and believe it may take up to two months to repair with disruption continuing for rail passengers.
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.”
Passengers seeking to travel between Edinburgh and Glasgow/Dunblane should contact ScotRail for details on alternative transport routes and bus replacements.
The stormy weather and subsequent flooding were also linked to the horror train derailment near Stonehaven which tragically claimed the lives of three men.
The 06.38am Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street ScotRail service left the tracks after hitting a landslide last Wednesday morning.
