The fatal train derailment in northeast Scotland, which claimed the lives of three people on Wednesday, was caused by a landslide, the Railway Accident Investigation Authority (RAIB) announced on Friday.
The 6:38 am local train (7:38 am in Paris) from Aberdeen to Glasgow had derailed near Stonehaven, about 25 kilometers south of Aberdeen. The area was affected overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday by heavy rains which caused flooding and landslides. The six vehicles on the train derailed after hitting "the mass resulting from a landslide about 2.25 km north-east of Carmont, Aberdeenshire," the Accident Investigation Directorate said on Friday railways.
Few travelers due to coronavirus
Only nine people were on the train, the organization said, a small number due in part to travel restrictions imposed last week after a resurgence of cases of the new coronavirus in Aberdeen. Three people were declared dead on the spot by the emergency services. They are the driver, a 45-year-old man with three children, another railway worker and a passenger.
According to the RAIB, the train continued on its way after leaving Stonehaven, until it was reported at Carmont that a landslide would prevent it from continuing on to Laurencekirk. The driver then branched off to return to Aberdeen. “After traveling about 2.25km, the train hit a (another) landslide covering the track and derailed,” RAIB explained.
Controls
"While the track turned right, the train continued straight for about 90 meters, until it hit the parapet of a bridge", continued the organization, specifying that the lead car had then "continued on the bridge before falling off ”, just like the third passenger car. Other cars turned completely over, and some landed on the first car.
British Transport Minister Grant Shapps on Thursday asked Network Rail, which manages the rail network, to monitor the state of the network and to send him on 1 September the first conclusions of a report on the safety of the entire UK network. Known for its delays and management problems, the UK network is however known to be rather safe and the last fatal derailment was in 2007.
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