THE RAIL regulator has been urged to take high speed trains out of service in Scotland in the wake of the Stonehaven rail crash which claimed the lives of three people.

Transport workers union TSSA raised the alarm after the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report found evidence of “significant areas of corrosion” in damaged areas of the train’s carriages, including collision pillars designed to protect passengers and staff in the event of the accident.

The RAIB report into the crash found that there were areas of corrosion in damaged areas of the coach structures.

Driver Brett McCullough, 45, conductor Donald Dinnie, 58, and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62, died when the 06:38 high speed Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street train left the tracks after hitting a landslip in August 2020.

While the incident was caused by the train hitting gravel which had been washed onto the track, the report found the train involved was designed before modern safety standards were introduced.

Those who died were the driver, Brett McCullough, 45; the conductor, Donald Dinnie, 58; and a passenger, Christopher Stuchbury, 62, while the other six people onboard were injured.

TSSA is concerned that the corrosion had been picked up during a refurbishment of the coaches in 2019, and repairs authorised, but there was no photographic evidence that the work was done.

During the derailment the collision pillars were completely sheared off, causing what the RAIB termed “a complete loss of survival space in the leading vestibule of the leading coach".

The TSSA union has written to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) asking it to instruct rail companies across Britain, including ScotRail, to withdraw their InterCity 125 High Speed Trains (HST) vehicles from passenger service “because of the risk they pose to passengers being able to survive in derailment conditions.”

The HSTs which have been in service on Britain's railways for over 40 years began getting a new lease of life by ScotRail four years ago.

The Herald:

One of the first made, named after designer Sir Kenneth Grange, is on display at the National Railway Museum in York.

The RAIB found that the train derailed because it struck debris that had been washed out of a faulty drainage system constructed between 2011 and 2012 by failed outsourcing giant Carillion.

Both Network Rail, which owns the infrastructure, and the designers of the drain were unaware that Carillion did not build it to specification and so were not able to safely accommodate the water flows that morning.

But investigators also found that the refurbished high speed train involved in the crash were designed before modern standards were brought in with design features intended to minimise the damage to the train in case of collision or derailment.

The RAIB said that it was more likely than not that the outcome would have been better if the train had been compliant with modern ‘crashworthiness’ standards.

It also warned that because of the pandemic, there were only nine people on the train at the time of the crash and the casualty toll would almost certainly have been significantly higher in normal times. ScotRail estimated there would have been between three and six time more passengers on the train outside of a pandemic.

Transport minister Jenny Gilruth has indicated that they were to look at removing Scotland's older high speed trains one of which was at the centre of the horror rail crash.

She confirmed a Transport Scotland steering group will look into the safety performance of older rolling stock, including InterCity 125 High Speed Trains (HST).

The Herald:

TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said, “The fact that there is no photographic evidence that Wabtec carried out the corrosion repairs on the derailed HST is a red flag for every other HST currently running.

“We cannot allow possibly unsafe trains to continue to run on Scotland’s railways. I’ve written today to Ian Prosser, the Chief Inspector of Railways and Director of Railway Safety, calling on him to instruct rail companies across Britain - including ScotRail - to withdraw their HSTs from passenger service because of the risk they pose to passengers being able to survive in derailment conditions.

“Frankly, it’s time to ban the HSTs from our railways. They were great in their day, but that day is nearly 50 years ago now and they simply aren’t up to modern safety standards. But at very least, the ORR must take every HST out of service until they can be thoroughly checked for signs of corrosion and necessary repairs made.

“It would be disrespectful to the memories of Brett McCullough, Donald Dinnie and Chris Stuchbury, the driver, conductor and passenger whose lives were lost in the accident if we don’t take action now to ensure accidents like this never happen again.”

He told the ORR that they could not wait until their recommendations are actually put in place said he was calling on the regulator to "instruct rail companies across Britain - including ScotRail - to withdraw their... vehicles from passenger service because of the risk they pose to passengers being able to survive in derailment conditions."

The Herald:

Ian McConnell, ScotRail chief operating officer, said: “The RAIB report is clear that the high-speed trains were not the cause of the accident and there is insufficient evidence to show that a more modern train would have prevented the derailment.

“As the RAIB report notes, high-speed trains have operated across Britain for many years with a good safety record. These trains have received all the necessary legal and safety certifications authorising them as safe to operate on the rail network in Britain.”