A series of failures contributed to a rail crash in Aberdeenshire which claimed three lives, an investigation has found.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has this morning made 20 safety recommendations in its report on the crash.
Driver Brett McCullough, 45, conductor Donald Dinnie, 58, and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62, died when the train derailed on 12 August 2020.
Six other people were injured when the 06:38 Aberdeen to Glasgow service hit washed-out debris at Carmont, south of Stonehaven.
VIDEO: What caused Stonehaven derailment
What happened
At around 09:37 hrs on Wednesday 12 August 2020, the train derailed near Carmont, Aberdeenshire. The train, reporting number 1T08, was the 06:38 hrs service from Aberdeen to Glasgow, which was returning towards Aberdeen due to a blockage that had been reported on the line ahead. It was travelling at 73 mph (117 km/h), just under the normal speed for the line concerned.
After derailing, the train deviated to the left, before striking a bridge parapet which caused the vehicles to scatter. Tragically, three people died as a result of the accident and the remaining six people on the train were injured.
On the morning of the accident there was near-continuous heavy rain at the site of the accident between about 06:00 hrs and 09:00 hrs. The 51.5 mm of rain which fell in this period at the accident site was close to the average rainfall for the month of August in this part of Scotland. Train 1T08 derailed because it struck debris that had been washed out of a drainage trench. This trench, which had been constructed between 2011 and 2012, contained a perforated pipe that had been installed as part of a project to address a known problem with drainage and the stability of a cutting in that area. However, the drainage system and associated earthworks had not been constructed in accordance with the original design and so were not able to safely accommodate the water flows that morning.
RAIB’s investigators found that a low earth bank (bund) had been constructed that ran across a slope leading towards the track. The presence of this bund significantly altered the flow of water such that extreme rainfall would cause a concentrated flow into the steeply sloping section of trench. The evidence indicates that the intensity and duration of this rainfall would have generated water flows into the trench that were sufficient to wash away the gravel fill and the ground immediately surrounding the trench.
No instruction was given by route control or the signaller that train 1T08 should be run at a lower speed on its journey between Carmont and Stonehaven. At that time there was no written process that required any such precaution in these circumstances. Consequently, normal railway rules were applied to the train movement.
The RAIB’s investigation found that the ‘route controllers’ (who were responsible for the operational management of Scotland’s railway network) had not been given the information, procedures or training that they needed to effectively manage complex situations of the type encountered on the morning of 12 August 2020.
Recommendations
As a consequence of this accident, RAIB has made 20 recommendations for the improvement of railway safety. The areas covered include:
- better management of civil engineering construction activities by Network Rail and its contractors
- additional standards and guidance on the safe design of drainage systems
- improved operational response to extreme rainfall events, exploiting the full capability of modern technology, and based on a detailed understanding of the risk associated with extreme rainfall
- enhancing the capability of route control offices to effectively manage complex events
- extending Network Rail’s assurance regime to encompass route control offices
- addressing the obstacles to effective implementation of lessons learnt from the investigation of accidents and incidents
- measures to prevent derailed trains from deviating too far from the track (equipment fitted to track and/or trains)
- addressing train design issues identified by the investigation and better understanding the additional risk associated with the operation of older trains.
Click here to read the full report