Signaller ‘compliant’ with rules in instructions to train crash driver, FAI told

A signaller who instructed a train driver to go at normal speed just minutes before it crashed into a landslip was “entirely compliant” with the rules in place at the time, an inquiry has heard.

Train 1T08 derailed at Carmont near Stonehaven on August 12 2020 after it hit a pile of gravel, washed onto the railway track by heavy rain, before striking a bridge parapet.

Of the nine people who were aboard the train, three: train driver Brett McCullough, 45; conductor Donald Dinnie, 58; and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62; were killed.

The fatal incident inquiry (FAI) at Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard on Thursday that a signaller had been following Network Rail’s rulebook when they instructed the driver to proceed at normal “line” speed just before the accident.

This was despite a once-in-a-century level of rainfall having fallen in eastern Scotland.

Network Rail Scotland route director Ross Moran, who had been working as head of operations delivery at the time of the accident, told the inquiry there was “no flexibility” around whether the rulebook was to be followed.

“The rulebook is the safety gospel as to how the network operates, and it’s predicated entirely on operating the network as safely as possible,” he said.

He added: “In my opinion, the signaller on the day entirely complied with the rulebook.”

Mr Moran said staff could ask permission to deviate from it if they felt it necessary but that, in his roughly two decades working in the rail sector, he could not “personally recollect any scenario… where the rulebook has not been followed.”

In his evidence, Paul Ashton, who had been head of operations, principles and standards at the time of the crash, said Network Rail has since made substantial changes, including to how it monitors and responds to weather events, and to its decision-making model.

He also said a clause has been added to the rulebook that “allows us to do things other than what’s prescribed in the rulebook, mainly if there’s a gap, or if applying the rule makes it less safe.”

Mr Moran also recalled the day of the incident, which he said started with him waking between 5am and 6am with his phone buzzing with news of “multiple” incidents on the network due to the heavy rain.

He told the inquiry: “There were multiple incidents on the day affecting multiple lines and routes, so communication channels were under a good deal of pressure.

“It was possibly the busiest day I think I can ever recall in respect of incidents requiring to be managed.”

He said he travelled to the site of the accident in the afternoon in order to provide “welfare” support to some of his staff who were assisting at the scene, but said he did not have direct involvement with it.

A criminal prosecution saw Network Rail fined £6.7 million in 2023 after it admitted health and safety failings over the crash.

A Network Rail spokesperson said on Monday the Government-owned company is “committed to supporting the work of the inquiry and continuing to deliver on the recommendations made by RAIB”.

They added: “We’ve made significant changes to how we manage the risk of severe weather since the accident and our work to make our network more resilient will continue.”

The inquiry before Sheriff Lesley Johnson continues.