Three killed in worst rail crash for 16 years
Investigation into Scotland’s deadly rail crash focuses on timeline of train’s return to Aberdeen
Three people died yesterday after a train hit a landslide and derailed in Aberdeenshire in what was Britain’s deadliest rail disaster in 16 years.
An investigation is set to examine why the 6.38am service, between Aberdeen and Glasgow Queen Street, was allowed to depart as scheduled following a night of thunderstorms and torrential rain. Many other services had been cancelled.
It is believed that the train was heading south from Aberdeen when it encountered a landslide and stopped. It was when it was returning to Aberdeen that it hit a second landslide “at speed” and derailed, only around 20 miles from the city it originally departed from.
Aerial pictures showed a scene of devastation, with one carriage having careered down a steep embankment. The driver, who has been named as Brett Mccullough, was among the dead, and six people were taken to hospital with minor injuries. It is thought only 12 people were on board. The pandemic and a mini-lockdown in Aberdeen meant the service was not as busy as it usually would have been.
One former minister said: “There will be an investigation. There will be questions asked about why the train was allowed to go south.”
AN INVESTIGATION was under way last night to establish the cause of the Aberdeen rail crash that left three people dead.
The 6.38am Scotrail service to Glasgow Central is thought to have encountered two landslides on tracks, following a night of thunderstorms and torrential rain.
When the driver saw the first landslide it is believed he managed to stop in time to avoid a collision. It was when he was returning to Aberdeen, after finding the track blocked, that he hit a second “at speed”, a rail industry source told The Telegraph.
The driver, who was last night named as Brett Mccullough, died in the collision, along with the train’s conductor and a passenger. The service from Aberdeen was allowed to depart as planned yesterday morning despite widespread cancellations to trains across Scotland. It is understood that the service was allowed to run, and whether it being allowed to do so was a breach of health and safety laws, will form a key line of inquiry in what will be a lengthy investigation process.
One senior Tory MP said: “There will have to be an investigation by the Rail Accident Investigation branch. The UK is one of the safest railways in Europe. We aren’t used to this kind of thing happening. We tend to get fatalities involving passengers or workmen.”
Aerial pictures showed a scene of devastation. Three carriages had completely derailed, with one completely burned out. One had careered down a steep embankment.
It remained unclear last night how far south the train had got before it turned back.
However, emergency services did not respond to the incident until more than three hours after the Scotrail service had originally set off. British Transport Police said their officers were called to the scene at 9:43am, with the train derailing only around 20 miles south of Aberdeen, the city it had originally left from. Yesterday morning, Network Rail warned of disruption to services across Scotland. At 9:49am, minutes after police were dispatched to the site, it posted on Twitter a video of tracks submerged in water at Carmont, close to the site of the accident, and said there had been “reports of a landslip”.
Authorities refused to elaborate on the timeline yesterday, with police reading a brief statement outside
Stonehaven police station and refusing to take any questions.
“The first landslip the driver saw was far enough away for him to stop,” an industry source said. “He got out, walked to the other end and started driving it back to Aberdeen, but did not see the second one which was hit at some speed.”
The Queen sent a message of condolence to the Lord-lieutenant of Kincardineshire following the crash. The Prime Minister said the fatal train derailment must “never happen again”.
Boris Johnson also called for a probe into the impact of “substantial rainfall on vulnerable infrastructure” amid fears that the crash was caused by the landslip, due to torrential rain. He said his understanding was that a month’s worth of rainfall had fallen in a very short period “which undoubtedly aggravated the problem there”.
He added: “One of the reasons that this accident is so shocking is of course that this type of accident on our railways is thankfully so rare.
“But our thoughts are very much with those who’ve lost their lives, their families and of course those who’ve been injured in the derailment.
“Clearly the most important thing now is that the British Transport Police, who are in charge of the investigation, find out exactly what happened.”
Trains have the equivalent of a “black box” on aircraft, which will be used by investigators who are seeking to establish the facts.
Two inspectors from the Office for Road and Rail were dispatched to the site yesterday, and are working with Scottish prosecutors, the Rail Accident Investigations Branch and the British Transport Police to establish what went wrong.
“I am devastated for all those involved,” said Lewis Macdonald, a Labour MSP for North East Scotland who added that he regularly used the service. “It’s difficult to second-guess judgments, but it’s going to be important to everyone affected to know why decisions were made and when.”
A health and safety report published last month warned a spike in landslips had demonstrated the “vulnerability” of Network Rail.
While the three deaths made it Britain’s deadliest rail disaster in 16 years, if not for the coronavirus pandemic and a mini-lockdown in Aberdeen, it could have been far worse. Regular users of the service said they had been travelling by car instead, to lessen the risk of catching the virus. It is believed only 12 people – six crew and six passengers – were on the early morning service.
Grant Shapps, the UK Transport Secretary, said his department was on hand to provide any support needed to the Scottish government. He said: “The safety of passengers and staff is and has always been our upmost priority and we will ensure that lessons are learned from this tragic incident once the Rail Accident Investigation Branch has carried out its investigation.”
Kevin Lindsay, the Scottish organiser for train driver’s union ASLEF, said: “While it is too early to speculate … it would seem that the appalling weather conditions in the area – the torrential rain – resulted in a landslip which, in turn, caused the train to derail,” said Mr Lindsay.
‘The UK is one of the safest railways in Europe. We aren’t used to this’
‘We will ensure that lessons are learnt from this tragic incident’