Sheriff: Stonehaven train crash could have been prevented — drainage was not built to design

Inquiry conclusion: the crash was preventable

The train crash near Carmont, close to Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire, on 12 August 2020, which claimed the lives of driver Brett McCullough (45), conductor Donald Dinnie (58) and passenger Christopher Stuchbury (62), could have been avoided had the drainage been built correctly. Sheriff Lesley Johnston reached this conclusion following the fatal accident inquiry, BBC News reports. According to her findings, the drainage built by the company Carillion was not constructed and installed in accordance with the design, and there were precautions that 'could realistically have prevented the accident'.

What exactly happened

After intense rainfall, water washed debris out of the improperly installed drainage onto the track. The 06:38 service to Glasgow was unable to complete its route due to the conditions and was returning to Aberdeen. The driver asked the signaller whether he should slow down, but was told he could proceed at normal speed. At around 73 mph, the train struck debris on the track, derailed and crashed into a bridge parapet. Due to Covid restrictions, there were only nine people on board; the six survivors were injured.

List of failings and previous rulings

In her written determination, the sheriff listed the precautions that could have helped: building the drainage in accordance with the design, preparing and handing over 'as built' drawings to Network Rail, and Network Rail complying with its own standards, which required obtaining such drawings upon completion of construction. Johnston pointed to a 'defect in the system of work' — insufficient oversight and management of the drainage construction by Network Rail. Earlier, in 2023, the company admitted a number of failures in maintenance and inspections, as well as the fact that it had failed to warn the driver about the hazardous section and did not require a reduction in speed, and was fined £6.7 million.

What changed after the crash

The sheriff noted that after the crash, Network Rail underwent a 'significant cultural shift' in its understanding of the impact of weather — rainfall is now treated as a threat to railway operations; the company makes far greater use of aerial surveys from helicopters and drones for inspections, and record-keeping in construction projects has become more thorough. It was also reported at the hearings in Aberdeen that the network is better prepared for extreme weather than in 2020. Johnston chose not to issue her own recommendations in her 199-page determination, considering the 20 recommendations from RAIB's 2022 report to be 'comprehensive and wide-ranging'; most have already been implemented, with the rest in the process of being carried out.

Reactions from the parties

Network Rail Scotland route director Liam Sumpter expressed condolences to the families of the victims and said the company had made significant changes to managing severe weather risks. Laura Buchan of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service noted that the proceedings provided a detailed public examination, and that measures had addressed the identified safety issues. The drivers' union Aslef called what happened 'a staggering level of managerial and corporate failure' and once again called for high-speed trains to be withdrawn from the fleet over questions about their crashworthiness — a position also supported by the RMT union. MP Andrew Bowie said the sense of loss is keenly felt in the community and expressed hope that the families of the victims will find comfort in the fact that lessons have been learned.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, RAIB