Landslides affect railway lines in the Highlands

Two separate landslips have affected railway lines in the Highlands.

On Tuesday evening, up to 40 tonnes of material was washed down from an embankment on to the line between Inverness and Beauly.

A train was struck during the landslide, damaging rolling stock but no-one was injured.

On Wednesday, there was a landslip near Wick. Train services between Wick and Thurso were disrupted for a time before the line was reopened.

Services between Inverness and Kyle of Lochalsh were affected by the earlier incident, before the debris was cleared on Wednesday afternoon.

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said up to 40 tonnes of material were involved in the landslip, which happened at about 18:45 on Tuesday.

Network Rail Scotland said specialist machinery was used to clear the line.

The slip near Wick happened at about 08:00.

The incidents followed an almost day-long period of rain on Tuesday, and ahead of expected snow showers for large parts of Scotland on Thursday.

The Met Office has issued a yellow "be aware" warning for snow for most of mainland Scotland on Thursday morning.