NETWORK Rail has been fined £6.7 million after admitting health and safety failings over a rail crash that claimed three lives.
Train driver Brett McCullough, 45, conductor Donald Dinnie, 58, and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62, died in the derailment near Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, on August 12, 2020.
At the High Court in Aberdeen on Thursday, the company admitted a series of failings that resulted in the deaths, pleading guilty to a charge covering the period from May 1, 2011 to August 12, 2020.
This included failing to inform the driver that it was unsafe to drive the train at a speed of 75mph, or caution him to reduce his speed amid bad weather on the day of the derailment, which also left six people injured.
READ MORE: Alister Jack snubs Scottish Parliament committee over Deposit Return Scheme
There were also failings in construction, inspection and maintenance of drainage assets and in adverse and extreme weather planning.
Judge Lord Matthews fined Network Rail £6.7m when he sentenced the company at the court on Friday.
The figure was reduced from £10m due to the guilty plea.
Network Rail admitted it failed to ensure, so far as was reasonably practical, that railway workers not in its employment and members of the public travelling by train were not exposed to the “risk of serious injury and death from train derailment” as a result of failures in the construction, inspection and maintenance of drainage assets and in adverse and extreme weather planning.
Advocate depute Alex Prentice KC, prosecuting, told the court on Thursday that Network Rail had failed to maintain or inspect a drainage asset built in 2011 prior to the derailment.
READ MORE: PM dodges commitment to raise Jagtar Singh Johal case on India trip
He said if the drain had been constructed to the agreed specifications, it would have been able to cope with the amount of washout of gravel which resulted in the train derailing.
The court also heard Mr McCullough had asked the Carmont area signaller if there were any speed restrictions in place due to the conditions.
The signaller told him: “Eh no, everything’s fine between myself and Stonehaven.”
The court heard that when Mr McCullough pulled the emergency brake, there was “insufficient time” for it to have any impact on the train’s speed.
A Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report published last March found errors in the construction of a drainage system installed by Carillion meant it was unable to cope with heavy rain which fell in the area on the morning of the crash.
READ MORE: SNP minister takes aim at 'p*ish' BBC Scottish political satire show
Carillion went into compulsory liquidation in January 2018.
The RAIB report made 20 recommendations to improve railway safety, many of which were directed at Network Rail.
Network Rail said it is determined to build upon the “significant changes” it has made since the incident, which have “helped us to manage the risk of severe weather to the network”, and it has invested millions to improve the resilience of the railway.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here