Trackside slopes to be inspected after rail tragedy

NETWORK Rail is to inspect high-risk trackside slopes across Britain following the Aberdeenshire crash which left three people dead.

The rail infrastructure body said it will use in-house engineers, specialist contractors and helicopter surveys to assess dozens of sites with “similar characteristics” to the stretch of railway where an Aberdeen to Glasgow service derailed near Stonehaven on Wednesday.

A landslip amid heavy rain and flooding is suspected to have played a part in the accident. An inquiry has been launched by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch.

The train’s driver Brett McCullough, conductor Donald Dinnie and a passenger were killed in the crash.

A union official said colleagues “thought the world” of Mr McCullough, 45, who leaves behind wife Stephanie and three children.

Network Rail boss Andrew Haines, who arrived at the scene yesterday, said “my heart goes out to everyone affected by this tragedy” and paid tribute to rail staff and the emergency services “who responded so quickly and professionally”.

He went on: “Questions are inevitably being asked as to how this could happen and I am determined that we understand the circumstances that led to this devastating event.

“It’s too early to draw conclusions but it is critical that we investigate thoroughly and with care, and work closely with rail safety authorities to make sure this can’t happen again.”

Network Rail said it is working with meteorologists to strengthen the information it receives about flash flooding caused by extreme weather and its engineers are reviewing the remote monitoring of high-risk sites to test whether it can be improved.