Interim report into Stonehaven rail tragedy sets out 'how the industry plans to reduce the risk of landslips'
Key findings also suggest the industry rules for reporting and responding to adverse rainfall are improved and that PC Liam Mercer is commended for his bravery.
Last updated 10th Sep 2020
The interim report into the Stonehaven rail tragedy by network rail has been published. Commissioned by the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps immediately after the event, the report outlines immediate and long-term action to improve the resilience of the railway in extreme weather.
Three men were killed when a train left the tracks near Stonehaven on the morning of August 12, following heav rainfall.
The initial findings of the report suggest than the derailment was the result of the train stricking a pile of washed-out rock and gravel.
The report also assesses the current controls and management of thousands of miles of earthworks across the the network rail lines. Highlighting the need for increased focus on deploying technology across the network to predict failures, and also suggests an investment in better forecasting to allow decisions at a local level on weather events.
Key findings also suggest that industry rules for reporting and responding to adverse rainfall will be improved and strengthened.
According to Network Rail, hundreds of sights across the country have been inspected over the past three weeks to identify any areas that need immediate intervention.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:
“The incident at Stonehaven was a tragedy, and my heart goes out to the friends and family of Driver Brett McCullough, conductor Donald Dinnie, and Christopher Stuchbury.
“We owe it to those who lost their lives, were injured, and were affected by this incident, to learn and act on every possible lesson to ensure this is never repeated. The independent investigation will enable us to understand exactly what went wrong, and make sure it does not happen again.
“We cannot delay learning the lessons. That is why I immediately commissioned this report and am making the interim findings available. I welcome the work setting out the challenges in adapting our rail infrastructure to cope with increasing extreme weather events caused by climate change. The task is now to overcome those challenges.
“We will use the findings of this interim report to improve, shape and accelerate our work to build a more robust and resilient rail network, so that our railway continues to be one of the safest in the world.”
The Secretary of State is also writing to the Chief Constable of Police Scotland, Iain Thomas Livingstone, recommending that PC Liam Mercer, one of the first people on scene following the derailment, is commended for his bravery.
Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines said:
“My thoughts remain with the families and friends of the three people who lost their lives, those who were injured and everybody affected by the tragedy at Stonehaven last month. We owe it to them, and all our passengers, to make sure we understand what happened and what more we should be doing to reduce the risk of it ever happening again.
“We are all aware that we are increasingly seeing more incidents of severe weather and as the report published today shows, earthworks and drainage infrastructure– some of which are more than 150 years old – prove to be a real challenge as the country experiences more heavy rainfall and flooding.
“Our railway is one of the safest in Europe and tragic accidents are incredibly rare, but something went wrong on 12 August near Stonehaven and it is a stark reminder that we must never take safety for granted. We are improving and accelerating our resilience work and will do everything we can to minimise the impact of weather on the safety and reliability of the railway as our climate continues to change.”
Between 2019-24, Network Rail has made a record investment of £1.3 billion in strengthening the railway’s resilience to extreme weather, compared with £550m from 2009-2014 and £952m from 2014-2019.
Today’s interim report will be followed by a final report which will be published in due course. This will provide greater detail on work that can be accelerated to improve the railway’s management of extreme weather and earthworks.