Edinburgh trains cancelled as gas leak forces rush hour line closure

Engineers discovered the gas leak at Livingston yesterday, prompting rail bosses to shut the line between Bathgate and Waverley.

Trains for Bathgate are cancelled throughout the morning, while services to and from Helensburgh Central are stopping in the West Lothian town.

ScotRail is running buses between Bathgate and Edinburgh Park in both directions, while passengers can use train tickets to get trams from the latter station to the city centre.

Commuters and travellers at Edinburgh's Waverley Station. Picture: PA

It is said to be likely the line will remain closed until at least the middle of the afternoon.

The operator said: “Due to a gas leak near Livingston North, @NetworkRailSCOT have had to close the railway between Bathgate and Edinburgh Waverley.”

It added: “We have buses running between Bathgate and Edinburgh Park in both directions.

“We have ticket acceptance in place with Edinburgh Trams between Edinburgh and Edinburgh Park.”

Network Rail said: “Due to a gas leak near Livingston North, we’ve had to close the railway between Bathgate and Edinburgh Waverley.

“@SGNgas working to repair the leak, but we don’t have a timescale for the line to reopen. We’ll share another update at 10 am.”

SGN Gas tweeted just before 9pm last night: “We're responding to a gas escape on a medium pressure pipeline along the Moss Wood footpath in #Knightsridge, #Livingston.

“For safety reasons, the railway line is closed between the stations of Livingston North & Uphall. We’re very sorry for the inconvenience to train passengers.”