Snow and strong winds disrupt travel in Scotland

Snow has been falling on higher ground in the Highlands/Pic: Anne Mcgee

Snow and high winds have disrupted road and rail travel across Scotland.

Gusts of up to 70mph swept across the central belt and forecasters warned of heavy snow on high ground.

In the Highlands, seven vehicles were involved in a collision which closed the A9 at Dalwhinnie for almost seven hours.

Rail services were severely disrupted, with one passenger being injured after a train travelling from Wick struck a fallen tree at Inverness.

Northern Constabulary said the seven-vehicle collision on the A9 had blocked the road at the scene. Three cars, three articulated lorries and a van were involved in the collision at about 12:50. The road reopened at 19:30.

A police spokesman said there had been one minor injury.

Finance Secretary John Swinney was travelling in a car close behind when the collision happened.

The minister and his team witnessed the incident and were said to have offered assistance at the scene.

Police said driving conditions remained poor with surface water and snow affecting the area.

Further down the A9, the snow gates were closed at Blair Atholl in Perthshire.

The Met Office upgraded its weather alert from yellow to amber for heavy snow across some parts of the country.

Amber warnings cover Central, Tayside, Fife, Strathclyde, the south-west of Scotland, Lothian and Borders, Highlands and Western Isles.

The Grampian area is on yellow, while southern and western Scotland could also experience very strong winds at times.

A firefighter looks at damage from a fallen tree on the Wick to Inverness train

Transport Minister Keith Brown said the Multi Agency Response Team (Mart) would be operating for at least 24 hours to monitor the situation.

Scotrail said train services in the west Highlands and north of Perth were particularly disrupted by the weather. Line speeds there have been restricted to 50mph by Network Rail for safety reasons.

There were problems on the Aberdeen-Inverness line, Inverness to Wick and Kyle, the West Highland lines, and Edinburgh to Dundee and Aberdeen.

Scotrail said the 13:59 Inverness to Wick train struck a fallen tree near Clachnaharry, north of Inverness.

One passenger was understood to have suffered bruising and was taken to hospital.

A Scotrail spokeswoman said: "It is understood the train struck a fallen tree and that one person suffered bruising. He was taken to hospital as a precaution."

Train services at Stirling were disrupted by signalling problems.

The closure of Kilmarnock Road in Shawlands caused tailbacks on the south side of Glasgow

Network Rail said the Tay Bridge had been closed to trains by winds over 80mph.

The Tay Road Bridge was also closed with diversions via the Friarton Bridge in Perth.

However, this was also closed to high-sided vehicles.

The A83 at Rest And Be Thankful was closed for emergency repairs because of the severe weather and remained closed overnight.

In the Shawlands area on the south side of Glasgow, the A77 Kilmarnock Road was closed in both directions because of an unsafe building.

It is understood the fire service were dealing with a satellite dish which was hanging from a tenement. The incident caused long Tuesday evening rush-hour tailbacks and diversions to bus routes but the road has now reopened.