Network Rail launch two task forces following Aberdeenshire train derailment
One force will focus on the earthworks prortfolio and the other on responses to extreme weather.
Network Rail has launched two independent task forces,to help it better manage its massive earthworks (cuttings and embankments) portfolio and its understanding and response to severe weather events.
It follows the train derailment earlier this month in Aberdeenshire, near Stonehaven, that claimed the lives of Brett McCullough, Donald Dinnie and Christopher Stuchbury.
Their Press release states:
"Dame Julia Slingo FRS, former chief scientist at the Met Office and a world-renowned expert in climatology, will lead a weather action task force with the objective of better equipping Network Rail to understand the risk of rainfall to its infrastructure, drawing on the latest scientific developments in monitoring, real-time observations and weather forecasting."
"Meanwhile, Lord Robert Mair CBE FREng FRS will spearhead an earthworks management task force to see how Network Rail can improve the management of its massive earthworks portfolio, looking at past incidents, latest technologies and innovations and best practice from across the globe."
Andrew Haines, Network Rail chief executive, said: “The Stonehaven tragedy resulted in three people losing their lives - this is a stark reminder that we must never take running a safe railway for granted.
“With more and more extreme weather and tens of thousands of earthwork assets across Great Britain, our challenge is massive. And while we are making record investment in these areas, we have asked world renowned experts, Dame Julia Slingo and Lord Mair, to help us address these issues as effectively as possible, and at pace.”