25/01/2016 Reporting Scotland

It's been revealed that a train was allowed to cross

the Lamington Viaduct in South Lanarkshire at high speed

after the bridge had suffered serious storm damage at the end

Rail Accident Investigators are now scrutinising what they call

a dangerous occurrence on the West Coast Main Line.

Our transport correspondent David Miller has more.

This is as close as we can take you to the viaduct today but work

goes on to repair the badly damaged structure.

Just how serious an incident was this?

We will have to wait for the investigator's report before

we can answer that with any degree of certainty but we do already

have a much more detailed understanding of what happened

here on the morning of the 31st of December.

At 7:35am a train driver reported a dip in the track.

A speed restriction was introduced until maintenance staff

At 8.40 engineers observed unusual track movement and reconstruction

The line was closed to all trains after the engineers spotted a large

crack in one of the piers supporting the bridge.

Days of heavy rainfall leading up to Hogmanay had resulted in record

water levels on this stretch of the River Clyde.

The force of the water caused what is known as scour damage.

The bridge and the piers are subject to an annual inspection regime that

involves the use of divers and the last time they went down

last year, there was no suggestion of any scour damage.

The investigators will want to know why a train travelling at high speed

was among those allowed to cross after the alarm was first raised.

That is when the already damaged bridge would have been under

The speed limit on the section of the line is 120mph.

Scotland should create a new middle band for income tax according

to a report from a Commission set up by the Scottish Conservatives.

The Scottish Parliament will have new powers to set income tax

The report also outlines other policies for business rates,

Our political editor, Brian Taylor, has the details.

That forward-thinking will play a huge part in this year's Holyrood

elections. Today's report goes beyond income tax, it wants reformed

council tax and freeze on business rates. But it is income tax that is

the big league. The Commission wants a new 30p rate so that aspirational

families do not jump to abruptly into the upper rate. It says in

general Scottish taxes should not be higher than elsewhere in the UK.

What the evidence tells us is if taxes are too high,

that will hold back the growth of the Scottish economy so we need

to design a tax regime that will be fair to everybody but will actually

produce the tax revenues in the future.

I think we have done that but it is over to the politicians

to decide how exactly to implement that kind of philosophy.

The commission says the economy is already vulnerable

through remoteness from markets and does not need higher taxes.

The Commission is clear, they want Scotland to be competitive

and to grow the Scottish economy and in order to do that we should

not have taxes higher than the rest of the UK,

and if and when affordable, we should endeavour to try to lower

Of the other parties, only the Labour leader has set out

Plans include restoring the 50p tax rate for those earning more

The SNP are looking at that but there are apprehensive questions.

With a 50p rate earned enough to make it worthwhile? What would it

signal about Scotland being open for business? We do not have long to

wait for the answers. All of the parties will set out their plans in

detail before me. After that, it is your choice.

Police Scotland has announced a revised timetable for changes

to its control rooms, and the way emergency

It follows criticism of the force in the wake of the tragedy on the M9

near Stirling, when police failed, for three days, to attend to a car

A further ?6.5 million is to be spent improving the A83 in Argyll.

The road is frequently closed by landslips at the Rest and Be

The Old Military Road, which provides an alternative route,

But local people say a long-term solution is required.

On the 30th of December, while driving to Glasgow,

her car was knocked sideways by rocks falling down the hillside.

The road was clear one minute and all of a sudden there was this

huge concrete plinth that came out of the left side towards the car.

An instinctive reaction is to slam on the brakes and turn the steering

And it was not until people helped me out that I realised

I was facing the cliff that had been on the left hand side and I was able

to look back and see the car was badly damaged.

It is winter weather like this with lots of heavy rain and wind

that can trigger a landslide and there has been many.

At one point, locals say there was one every year

but the netting on the hillside has really helped and today,

the Scottish Government announced funding for more.

Some of the measures include more netting because that has been

effective in catching some of the material on the hillside,

strengthening the old military road, which is a diversionary route

and other works to mitigate against inevitable landslides

For many it is a road with views of stunning beauty

but for the people that live here it is the main arterial

Local businesses need passing trade from cars and lorries to survive.

When the A83 is shut, the signs are out telling

you that the road ahead is shut and nobody wants to venture this far

but when the A83 is running, we get lots of passing trade,

the lorries and all of that kind of thing.

We're busy from first thing until night.

At the meeting today of Government and business,

the cash injection was welcomed but is this enough?

The more defences we put up, the worst the climate gets and we're

keeping the status quo and that is not good enough

because we really need the Government to give this money

to us and give us support but also look at the alternative.

Businesses and residents want a long-term solution for the safety

Police are continuing their search for a gunman who shot a Glasgow

shopkeeper in the leg yesterday morning.

The 23-year-old victim is said to be in a stable condition

after he was shot at a convenience store in Yoker.

His masked attacker, who had been armed with a handgun,

demanded cash and cigarettes, before firing the weapon and making

A 45 year-old woman has been killed, after the car she was driving

collided with a coal lorry on the A73 near Thankerton

An 18-year-old woman who was a passenger in the car,

and the lorry driver, were treated for minor injuries.

Police are appealing for any witnesses.

People who misuse disabled parking permits can now be instantly

It follows an agreement with local authorities,

which allows officers to access information

Burns Night traditionally celebrates Scottish music and culture.

But an alternative Burns Night in Glasgow tonight saw a performance

in five languages from one of the country's newest

Ee Kareeka Jaal were set up more than a year ago in the Govanhill

area, to celebrate the city's Roma community.

Our arts correspondent Pauline McLean met up with them.

Home to the biggest Roma community in the UK. And this band created to

celebrate that. They speak and sing in five

languages and a draw from cultures around the world.

We are exploring these kind of connections. It is something that

always happens in music. People get along through music. It is all fork

music anyway. A lot of the Roma songs that we are doing have folk

routes. We need to find a reason to make a party just to play music to

be happy. Govanhill has become known for its

music. We are one of the project but there

are many projects. There are music groups. Things are happening.

Sport and there's one football result tonight.

In the Scottish Championship league leaders Rangers beat Morton 2-0.

Kenny Miller's 12th goal of the season, and a second-half

strike from Barrie McKay enough to seal the match

and re-establish their five-point lead at the top of the table.

Now, let's get the latest on the weather we can expect

A lot of wet and windy weather on the way this week. Clear skies from

much of southern and Eastern Scotland but show was leading in to

the north and West. Through the early hours the next batch of heavy

rain and strong to deal force winds moves in. This started out as the

snow storm that hit the US. Its reach is as as heavy rain. A yellow

be where warning. It miserable start. Pars a yellow be where

warning. Elsewhere the corsets, 50 to 60 mph gusts. That rain leading.

The wind never lets up through the day. For Northern Ireland and for

Scotland turning a dryer through the afternoon. Temperature wise it will

be mild once begin. It it will not feel that way underneath that cloud

and rain. Wednesday to be keeping an eye on the system. Snow on the

northern flank, winds on southern flank. Heavy rain. Snow for higher

ground of central and northern Scotland. Strong to deal force

winds. Into the afternoon the rain becomes more surely and win today.

Accumulations of snow above a couple of hundred metres. The rest of the

week it fluctuates between milder air and call the air. There will be

some rain throughout the rest of the week. It will be heavy at times.

Windy throughout. And that's all from

Reporting Scotland tonight. There are regular updates from 6.25

tomorrow morning, during Breakfast. From everyone on the late team

here in Glasgow and around