Flying Scotsman cancellation "due to Network Rail's appalling incompetence"
Network Rail has been accused of “appalling incompetence” after planned trips by the Flying Scotsman locomotive north of the border were halted at the last minute.
Network Rail has been accused of “appalling incompetence” after planned trips by the Flying Scotsman locomotive north of the border were halted at the last minute.
Scotland's Transport Minister Derek Mackay issued a strongly-worded statement in which he blasted the “farcical” situation and said “mishandling” of it would be fully investigated.
The minister later said on Twitter that he has spoken with Network Rail bosses “about restoring as much of the Flying Scotsman route plan as possible”. No further information has been released.
Track operator Network Rail revealed on Friday that the famous steam locomotive would no longer be able to undertake planned tours of the Borders and Fife this weekend.
It said it had not been able to carry out assessment work on some lines in time for the trips, which organisers said have been in the planning for more than a year.
The Flying Scotsman is operating between York and Edinburgh Waverley on Saturday as scheduled, but a vintage diesel engine is expected to take over for Sunday's trips, which were to see it run on the new Borders Railway to Tweedbank and across the Forth Bridge.
The move is certain to dismay the hundreds of rail enthusiasts expected to turn out to see the recently refurbished steam engine.
Mr Mackay said: “This announcement is hugely disappointing and represents appalling incompetence by Network Rail GB.
“I will be ensuring this mishandling of an application is fully investigated.
I believe the rail alliance in Scotland is working well, and this debacle at Network Rail GB HQ is further reason to devolve more functions to Scotland where we take seriously the economic benefits of rail in a way that seems to have escaped Network Rail GB HQ. I will be raising this at the most senior levels.
“The enthusiasm with which the return of the Flying Scotsman was greeted by thousands of people, not only in Scotland but around the UK, was evident in the huge amount of interest there was in seeing this iconic piece of history returning to Scotland.
“This is not only a disappointment for the residents of Fife, Midlothian and the Borders, who will be hit economically by the cancellation of this long awaited and landmark event, but who have also been let down by the farcical nature of how it was allowed to happen.”
He later tweeted: “Update: Spoken with Mark Carne, Chief Executive of Network Rail, about restoring as much of the Flying Scotsman route plan as possible.”
Excursion operators Steam Dreams hit out at the cancellation on Friday, saying:
“Network Rail has known about these trips for months and they have left this gauging until the last minute.
“It means there is absolutely no time to plan anything else for the locomotive so we can give passengers in Scotland a trip behind this icon.”
Network Rail has been contacted for a response to Mr Mackay's comments.
A spokesman for the operator said on Friday: “The routes the Scotsman had planned to cover this weekend are new ones for the locomotive and have to be individually assessed by our engineers in advance.
“Unfortunately we have been unable to carry out the work in time and cannot allow the engine to run when we are unsure if the unique design of the Flying Scotsman is compatible with the current railway infrastructure across the Fife and Borders routes.
“We understand the disappointment this will cause all those who had been looking forward to the iconic engine returning to these parts of Scotland and a full investigation will be undertaken into why these issues were not identified sooner.”
A spokeswoman for the National Railway Museum in York confirmed there is “nothing mechanically wrong” with the steam engine.
Built in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, in 1923, the Flying Scotsman pulled the first train to break the 100mph barrier in 1934.
The National Railway Museum in York bought the locomotive for £2.3 million in 2004 before work got under way on its decade-long restoration two years later.
Network Rail was forced to pay out almost £60,000 in compensation when dozens of train services were delayed by people encroaching on the track during the refurbished train's inaugural run from London to York on February 2 this year.