By CRAIG BROWN

Published on Wednesday 4 July 2012 22:20

THE Central Belt was hit by torrential rain last night, causing flash floods across the region and bringing traffic chaos to transport routes.

Localised flooding, caused by slow-moving showers, which were accompanied by thunder and lightning, brought rush-hour traffic to a halt as torrents of water rendered roads and rail tracks impassable.

In Glasgow, Queen Street Station was closed due to the flooding, leaving passengers travelling to the city stranded on trains while Network Rail engineers worked to clear the water.

Meanwhile, at the city’s Central Station, flooding on the low-level line resulted in services to Rutherglen being cancelled.

In Edinburgh, flooding in tunnels near Haymarket station caused 50-minute delays for services.

The capital’s road network also suffered, with Lothian Buses reporting that gridlocked traffic was causing serious delays, while surface water on the A71 between Hermiston and Wilkieston brought traffic to a crawl.

Lothian and Borders Police warned that flooding on the city bypass was causing “severe delays, particularly in the west and south-west”.

At Abbeyhill, the road under the railway bridge just beside the Palace of Holyroodhouse was rendered virtually impassible by standing water almost a foot and a half deep, forcing cars to edge their way through it.

Traffic on the M8 was hit badly, with east-bound vehicles still suffering severe delays hours after the worst of the rain had cleared.

Travellers hoping to catch planes from Edinburgh Airport were advised to leave extra travel time due to flooding on the airport road, while the A90, linking Cramond Brig to the Forth Road Bridge, was also affected.

In Glasgow, Great Western Road, the main artery heading west out of the city, was flooded, while the M74 between Polmadie and Cambuslang Road was badly affected. On the A8, flash flooding near the Showcase Leisure Park in Coatbridge caused traffic to slow in both directions, and there were also reports of flooding on Sarason Street and Switchback Road.

George Square’s Jubilee concert was abandoned due to the weather.

As the deluge continued, Twitter was inundated with reports of flooded roads and cars stalling as they drove through deep water.

Even where the roads were passable, the wet conditions posed a risk for drivers.

Commuter, Kerry Dean, who lives in Broxburn. West Lothian, tweeted: “Nearly got drowned tonight on way home. My wee fiat 500 not only had to cope with flooding but splash back from the opposite carriage.”

One Glasgow business posted on Facebook: “Flash flooding in Glasgow, my clients can’t make it tonight to pick up their order, hailstones in July and no broadband now due to this bizarre summer weather, I think mother nature has gone a little mad.”

Lothian and Borders Police said, however, that while the rain had caused problems in some areas, it had subsided quickly and within an hour traffic was running close to normal again.

Strathclyde fire brigade said it took “dozens” of calls from householders and business owners concerned about flooding.

The Met Office issued an amber warning across much of central Scotland, including Fife, the Lothians and Borders, telling the public to be aware of heavy downpours and flooding.

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There are 2 comments to this article

A Little Rain, and we all come to a standstill, We are all so drawn away from nature we have become more than stupid, It’s just as well we don’t live in America, or we would be all ‘Crying’ for our Mummy’s arms, Basically we have become wimps with no idea atall.

With the Road Network in such a state of decay and the lack of investment by both the Scottish Government and Councils especially the City of Edinburgh Council, at the first signs of a black cloud and a shower the road drainage infrastructure backs up and floods at random at most locations. I can just imagine the Vanity Tram converting to a Gondola at Gogar as it ships passengers to and from the airport with the RNLI on standby. I just wonder how many will miss their flights or onward connections due to the unreliability of the expensive Vanity Tram.

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By STEPHEN MCGINTY

Published on Wednesday 4 July 2012 19:04

THE Queen and Duke of Edinburgh yesterday attended a service of thanksgiving to mark her Diamond Jubilee.

Her Majesty was greeted at Glasgow Cathedral by crowds waving Union flags and a fanfare of trumpeters from a Royal Marine band before being escorted inside by a royal procession of banner bearers and heralds.

About 1,300 people packed into Glasgow Cathedral for the event, which was led by its minister Reverend Dr Laurence Whitley. Among the congregation were leading religious figures including Cardinal Keith O’Brien, leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, the Most Reverend Mario Conti, archbishop of Glasgow, and the Right Reverend Albert Bogle, moderator of the General Assembly.

The Queen listened as the Right Reverend Bogle paid tribute to her years of service. He said: “During this past 60 years, Her Majesty has brought the continuity and insight of a wise and gifted monarch, acting as a counsellor and confidante to many a prime minister and world leader.”

Pupils from Glasgow secondary schools read prayers of thanksgiving, while among those who attended were military figures and politicians, including Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond and Scottish Secretary Michael Moore.

After the service, the Queen and duke went to the city’s George Square, where they were greeted by waving and cheering crowds. They met community leaders in a marquee in the square, which was decorated in red, white and blue bunting.

The Queen was in Glasgow as part of her week-long trip to Scotland to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee.

She and the Duke of Edinburgh later visited St Margaret’s Hospice in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, to meet patients and staff and was greeted by hundreds of flag-waving residents. Hugh McElroy, who runs St Margaret Hospice’s first charity shop, in Anniesland Cross, was among the welcoming party. He said he last saw the Queen as a young army cadet in the early 1960s. “She has changed colossally since then,” he said. “But she remains as elegant and social as ever.”

The Queen was also introduced to hospice consultant Pamela Sheenan, who said meeting her was nerve-racking.

“She said I must have a lovely job,” said Ms Sheenan. “I was more nervous than I thought and the meeting was very brief, so I never really got a chance for the nerves to dissipate.”

Hugh Murphy, former manager of the Anniesland Cross shop, said his attendance at royal visits had come in pairs, 60 years apart. He first saw the Queen when she was still a princess. “Before today’s visit I was at the Queen’s garden party last year,” he said. “But I remember the first time I saw her as a boy during a visit to Clydebank in the 1940s. It was during rationing and I remember thinking that I had never seen a healthier group of people. It’s an indication of the poverty that was around at the time.”

Mr Murphy was also let out of school to see the launch of the Royal Yacht Britannia in Clydebank in 1953, but things did not go according to plan. “We were let out of school to line the streets. I saw it as an opportunity to go home early, so I skipped out. When I was on the way home, she passed me in the car and gave me a wave. She waves at everybody. She is very gracious.”

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  39 Comments

I am fairly sure the royals will not be disappointed that the Rangers thugs (who sang God Save the Queen as they urinated in Leith, Gorgie, Paisley, Dundee and elsewhere) will no longer be the most visible representatives of what it means to be royal or Loyal in Scotland. They certainly did a good job of putting me off (“if that’s what a royalist looks liek then count me out”). When actually the Queen seems a lady of some gravitas and decency, most unlike her Govan followers!

@#5 Charles, I do commend her for her dedication and constancy over these many years but the same cannot be said for her children.

We are well into the 21st Century and the few remaining constitutional monarchies have become little more than meaningless, mechanical charades paid for by all of us.

Kingdoms, duchies and knights are an expensive, elaborate game fro grown-ups in these hard times.

If Her Majesty our Queen had a smile on her face that what mattered the most, It meant the Queen enjoyed being in Scotland with the people of Scotland.

An excellent show of support from the SNP. They are firmly in favour of retaining her services should we vote for Independence. No Change, No Problem, So Surrender. just ask wee Eck.

She was really up here on Her Revenue Customs business – making sure the SPL delivered the proper vote, and they did.

lol Indeed was it no the ted Andrew that rans up a helicopter bill of £500,000.00 !! each and every year to play golf

She and her brood cost us less per year than a loaf of bread. Or some such nonsense.

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