The Stonehaven train tragedy, a year on
It's one year since the devastating train crash.
Last updated 11th Aug 2021
On the 12th of August 2020, a ScotRail passenger train struck a landslip, causing it to come off the tracks at Carmount in Aberdeenshire, resulting in the death of three men.
Driver Brett McCullough, Conductor Donald Dinnie and passenger Christopher Stuchbury lost their lives in the tragic incident.
One year on, the scars of that day are still healing.
The family of Mr Stuchbury released a statement through their solicitor, Lisa Gregory of Grant Smith Law Practice.
Chris's wife, Diane said:
“The family will be spending the day together on Thursday. We will be thinking of the other families who have lost loved ones. We wish to express again our thanks for the money which was raised and donated to us. Some of it was used to erect a memorial for Chris in a place dear to his heart.”
What happened..
A morning of storms and heavy rainfall over night and into the morning caused havoc around Scotland.
Videos of serious flooding across the North East of the country showed the impact of the extreme weather.
At 6:38 am the train left from Aberdeen station, heading to Glasgow Queen Street. The early morning time, and reduced passengers due to the Covid-19 pandemic meant just nine people, including crew, were onboard.
The service was delayed at the Carmont signalling box due to a landslip further down the line. After two hours of waiting, the driver was eventually given permission to turn back and head North towards Aberdeen.
By this time the weather had begun to clear, but after getting going again at 9:36 am, just two minutes later the train would collide with another landslip, causing all carriages other than the rear power car to be derailed.
They slid down an embankment, wiping out a bridge parapet wall on it's way - with both the leading power car and coach B catching fire after coming to rest at the edge of the river Carron.
Contractors working on the bridge where the vehicle came off the line witnessed the derailment, and were able to raise the alarm - prompting a large scale emergency service response.
Difficult circumstances due to the countryside landscape, small roads and earlier weather made it a highly complex operation. A nearby field had to be used for air ambulance access. With emergency vehicles lining the nearby farm tracks.
McCullough, Dinnie and Stuchbury all died, with the all others present on the train taken to hospital. All but one were released within five days, with the other leaving on the 19th of August.
What's happened since..
The section of railway line was not re-opened until the 3rd of November.
A temporary service was put in place between Aberdeen and Stonehaven, with passengers wishing to travel further South to Dundee - where services returned to normal - requiring a replacement bus.
The wreckage first had to be removed, and then extensive repairs made to the tracks. Whilst similar areas across Scotland's railways had their conditions checked over by engineers.
A piece of track just miles north of the crash site would be forced to close just after the turn of year after more heavy rain caused the fencing on the edge of a rail bridge to subside.
Again, Network Rail carried out assessments on the stretch of track, paying particular attention to areas at risk of landslips.
Repairs took over a month to complete, with the line again re-opening in late February.
Investigations into the crash were launched by the Police and Transport Police, as well as a parallel report being commissioned from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB).
Network Rail set up two new task forces, one focusing on the response to severe weather, and another looking into improving management of earthworks.
In April of this year the RAIB issue an interim report into the derailment. It concluded that the incident was caused by washed up stones on the track, and raised issues with drainage system in the area.
It also detailed the the train was travelling within the speed limit for the line.
The report said:
"The train derailed after colliding with stones washed out onto the track from the gravel-filled crest drain and from the adjacent ground. Post-accident surveys of the track found no evidence suggesting the derailment occurred on the approach to the debris on the track, and verified pre-accident inspections which had found no track defects in this area. RAIB has not found any evidence of a train fault that could have played a part in its derailment.
"Data from the on-train data recorder (OTDR) fitted to the trailing power car shows train 1T08 travelling at about 73 mph (117 km/h), which was less than the maximum permitted speed of 75 mph (121 km/h)"
The full report is expected to be published sometime in the next few months.
What's happening today..
A minutes silence will be held across Scotland's railway network at 9:43 am, with trains coming to a halt where it's safe to do so.
Meanwhile a private service will be held for family members of the three men who died, with a plaque to be erected at Stonehaven railway station in their memory.
Kevin Lindsay, organiser in Scotland for the driver union ASELF said: “It is with enormous sadness that we remember the event, which is still fresh and raw in all our minds.
“The accident cast a long shadow across the railway industry, not just here in Scotland, but throughout the United Kingdom.
“We will never forget Brett and Donald, who were doing their jobs, and Christopher, who was going about his business, but we will redouble our efforts to ensure that the railway is made safe for passengers and staff so that accidents of this sort do not happen again.”
"He had a heart of gold.."
Our Reporter Lewis Michie spoke to Bryan Pithie, a friend of Donald Dinnie, about the anniversary.
The two met when Donald worked on trains Bryan was travelling on.
They struck a connection due to Donald's generosity, chatting with Bryan as he traveled between work in Aberdeen and home in Montrose.
The conductor would even wake Pithie up as they approached his stop after late night shifts.
"Modern trains you'd not have seen the levels of destruction"
We've also been speaking to leading railway engineer Gareth Dennis.
He tells us that it's time for the ageing models of trains which are still "the backbone of Scotland's railways" to be phased out - with modern units providing more safety features.