Edinburgh weather and travel: Commuters warned sleet and snow could disrupt evening rush hour

Yellow weather warning for snow and ice covering Edinburgh and surrounding area remains in place

Commuters are being warned that sleet and snow is likely to affect Scotland’s central belt by Tuesday evening’s rush hour and could cause travel disruption.

The bad weather had been forecast to hit Edinburgh, Glasgow and other parts of central Scotland during the morning peak travel period, but it proved slower moving than forecast and roads and railways in the central belt remained largely unaffected, though temperatures were very cold.

However, the Met Office yellow warning for snow and ice, covering the whole of Scotland, remained in place and forecasters said snow was likely to arrive in central belt later, bringing possible travel disruption.

ScotRail has advised rail travellers to check for updates due to the potential for disruption because of bad weather.

ScotRail posted on social media to advise passengers: “If you're travelling, keep an eye on our app or website for any updates on your journey.”

Forecast severe weather further north did lead to warnings that services between Edinburgh and Inverness could be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised. SotRail said disruption was expected until the end of the day.

Network Rail posted: “We're expecting snow and very low temperatures today. We have staff on hand across the network to spray de-icing fluid to keep key junctions open.”

Traffic Scotland said conditions on the trunk road network were “not looking too bad so far”. And BEAR SE Trunk Roads, the contractor responsible for operating and maintaining trunk roads and bridges in the south east of Scotland on behalf of Transport Scotland, tweeted: “We're treating, patrolling and monitoring all routes 24/7, please drive safely.”