First stage of fatal accident inquiry into Stonehaven rail crash to be held
Train driver Brett McCullough, 45, conductor Donald Dinnie, 58, and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62, died in the derailment on August 12 2020.
The first stage of a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the Stonehaven derailment which claimed three lives will be held today.
Train driver Brett McCullough, 45, conductor Donald Dinnie, 58, and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62, died in the derailment near Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, on August 12 2020.
The Aberdeen to Glasgow ScotRail train struck a landslide at Carmont during heavy rainfall.
Network Rail were fined £6.7million after admitting health and safety failings.
A preliminary hearing will take place at Aberdeen Sheriff Court today (29 January) where a timetable for the FAI will be set out.
Unlike criminal proceedings, FAIs are inquisitorial in nature, and are used to establish facts rather than apportion blame.
The purpose of an FAI includes determining the cause of death, the circumstances in which the death occurred, and establishing what reasonable precautions could have been taken to minimise the risk of future deaths in similar circumstances.
Network Rail fined for failings
At the High Court in Aberdeen in September last year, Network Rail admitted a series of failings that resulted in the deaths, pleading guilty to a charge covering the period from May 1 2011 to August 12 2020.
This included failing to inform the driver that it was unsafe to drive the train at 75mph, or caution him to reduce his speed amid bad weather on the day of the derailment, which also left six people injured.
A Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report published in March 2022 found that errors in the construction of a drainage system installed by Carillion meant it was unable to cope with heavy rain which fell in the area on the morning of the crash.
Carillion went into compulsory liquidation in January 2018.
The RAIB report made 20 recommendations to improve railway safety, many of which were directed at Network Rail.
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