Stonehaven derailment to be investigated, as Network rail carry out inspection of 'high risk' areas
Telegraph, 13 Aug 2020
Tributes have been paid to the driver and conductor of a ScotRail train who were killed when it derailed in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire on Wednesday.
Brett McCullough, 45, and Donald Dinnie died when a landslip forced the train from its tracks, causing the locomotive and carriages to slide down an embankment. A passenger on the train was also killed.
A full investigation will establish exactly why the train left the tracks and why the service was allowed to run despite torrential rain in the area.
On Thursday, Network Rail announced that it will carry out "supplementary specialist inspections" of "higher risk" trackside slopes with similar characteristics to the site of the Aberdeenshire derailment.
At the scene on Thursday, Andrew Haines, the chief executive of Network Rail, said: "Questions are inevitably being asked as to how this could happen, and I am determined that we understand the circumstances that led to this devastating event.
"It's too early to draw conclusions, but it is critical that we investigate thoroughly and with care and work closely with rail safety authorities to make sure this can't happen again."
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