A UNION has called for improved safety standards after a 20-year-old man died after falling from a ladder at a railway station in East Dunbartonshire.
The emergency services were called to Bearsden Station shortly before 10am after reports a worker had been seriously injured.
British Transport Police (BTP) said the man died despite the efforts of paramedics at the scene.
The incident resulted in the station being closed, and trains were cancelled causing major delays for commuters.
The worker that died was working for Network Rail which is responsible for Scotland’s railway infrastructure.
The station, including a nearby restaurant, was cordoned off while investigations were carried out.
A BTP spokesman said: "Initial reports suggested that the person had fallen from scaffolding at the station. However, it is now believed to be a ladder.
"Police and paramedics from the Scottish Ambulance Service attended, despite their best efforts a 20-year-old man could not be saved.
"The man's family have been informed and are being support by officers.
"Officers remain on scene and are making enquiries to establish how the man came to fall. However, the circumstances are not believed to be suspicious."
Unite Scotland, which said its thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of this young worker added: "How many more workers have to die in the workplace, and in particular the construction industry, before stronger action is taken to protect workers.
"It is heart-breaking that a 20-year-old young man with his whole life ahead of him, left to go to work this morning and will not return home to his loved ones.
"Unite Scotland have repeatedly called for greater enforcement and regulation in the construction industry including stronger health and safety standards."
Police at the scene said it was an industrial accident and was being investigated by Health and Safety Executive officials.
A Network Rail spokesman said: “A colleague has tragically died following an accident at Bearsden station.
“We are working closely with the police to establish the exact circumstances of the incident and will carry out a full internal investigation.
“Railway staff affected by this incident will be fully supported through this difficult time and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the colleague we have lost.”
Scotland's Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said safety on the railway was paramount.
He said: "This is simply awful. My thoughts with the family and friends of the individual concerned, what tragic news.
"Clearly the incident will be thoroughly investigated, must ensure safety on our railways is paramount, be this for workers, commuters and passengers."
ScotRail later said: "Services are returning to normal now, and trains will begin to call at Bearsden again.
"There may still be some short notice cancellations whilst we try to get trains and crews back into the correct position ASAP."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here