Events around the Stonehaven derailment show why rail should be fully nationalised
ON February 10, at Holyrood, Douglas Ross, Scottish Conservative leader, attacked the Scottish Government’s plan to nationalise our railway service in Scotland. Confronting the First Minister, he demanded to know “the point” of doing so.
Last week the Rail Accident Investigating Branch published its initial fact-finding report into the Stonehaven derailment in 2020 (“Rail report blames failings by bosses for deadly crash”, The Herald, March 10). Three out of the nine people on board were killed.
The report named the private company, Carillion. In 2011, Carillion had failed to correctly install a vital drain at the crash site. Had Carillion followed the design, the report states, the drain would have been “highly likely to have safely accommodated the flow of surface water” .
The RAIB also named Network Rail, the UK Government’s arms-length company responsible for the safety of rail tracks throughout the UK. The report stated that Network Rail had not made itself aware of Carillion’s failure to construct the vital drain. Network Rail had not taken action even when a local landowner reported flooding.
Carillion no longer exists. Its scandalous bankruptcy in 2018 cost tax-payers more than £180 million and destroyed many client companies throughout the UK. Taxpayers also paid £2.6 billion to cover employee pensions which had been betrayed by the company. Jon Trickett, Labour MP for Hemsworth, addressed the House of Commons about the whole sordid mess, including the scandalous role of the London Government.
The RAIB report was factfinding only. When it comes to a public inquiry, and accountability, Carillion will be hard to pin down. Douglas Ross and his Conservative colleagues in Holyrood should therefore find the answer to his question starkly and painfully clear. Accountability for our Scottish railway – tracks and all – should be with Holyrood. As someone who is quick to blame our current Government at every opportunity, he should have no problem at all with nationalisation of our railways in Scotland, as soon as possible.