The climate crisis is presenting increasing challenges for rail safety, senior transport figures have warned, as family and friends paid tribute to three people who died in a derailment in Aberdeenshire following thunderstorms and torrential rain.
The train’s driver, Brett McCullough, and conductor, Donald Dinnie, died along with a passenger, Christopher Stuchbury, when the 6.38am Aberdeen to Glasgow service came off the tracks and slid down an embankment near Carmont, just west of Stonehaven, on Wednesday. A further six people were injured, two of whom remain in hospital, both in a stable condition.
McCullough, 45, was described as a devoted family man who moved from Bromley in Kent to north-east Scotland to marry his wife, Stephanie, and switched careers after a conversation with an Aberdeen train driver in 2011.
Friends and colleagues described Dinnie, 58, as “an absolute gent” who “always had a smile”, while Stuchbury, 62, was remembered as “an adored husband, son, dad, stepdad, grandad, brother and uncle”.
Visiting the site of the accident on Thursday, the Scottish transport secretary, Michael Matheson, said it was reasonable to presume the weather had had an impact on events, adding he hoped investigating authorities would advise whether efforts to address the challenges posed by extreme weather events should be stepped up.
“[Network Rail] are well aware of our views about the need to make sure that we are taking forward the right types of mitigations that help to manage a challenge of these types of localised, intense weather events,” he said.
“I think one of the things we will see from the investigation is whether the pace of that type of mitigation work needs to be stepped up; that’s not just a challenge across Scotland, it’s across the whole of the UK.”
Network Rail’s chief executive, Andrew Haines, announced a series of immediate additional safety measures, including inspections of dozens of sites with similar trackside slopes and risk profiles to the Stonehaven line, as he too visited the scene.
Haines said: “I will not pre-empt the outcome of the investigation into this awful event, but it is clear the weather was appalling and there were floods and landslips in the area. I have asked my teams to put extra measures in place, from immediate, heightened inspections to medium-term work with meteorologists to improve information and forecasting.”
Kevin Lindsay, Aslef’s organiser in Scotland, said McCullough, who had three children and lived not far from the scene of the crash, was working as a gas fitter when he started to talk about the railways while servicing the boiler of an Aberdeen train driver.
“Brett was fascinated by what he heard, successfully applied for a job, did his driver’s training for a year to earn his key, and entered service with ScotRail in December 2013,” said Lindsay.
“He was a dedicated train driver, who loved his job, and was very popular at the depot with his colleagues.”
McCullough’s family described him as “the most decent and loving human being we have ever known” in a statement. “Words cannot describe the utterly devastating effect of Brett’s death on his family and friends. We have lost a wonderful husband, father and son in the most awful of circumstances.”
Dinnie’s family said he was “a loving and proud dad, son, partner, brother, uncle and friend”, adding: “It is so heart-warming to see how many people have fond memories of Donald and I am sure they have plenty of happy and funny stories to tell. He was a kind, caring and genuine person who was never found without a smile on his face.”
In their own tribute, Stuchbury’s family said Christopher, who volunteered at Roxburghe House, a palliative care unit in Aberdeen, was also “a treasured and loved friend to many, including the Targe Towing Team where he was an integral and valued member of staff”.
Investigators, which include the British Transport Police, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) and the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), will establish the exact timeline – which remains uncertain – including the length of delay between the derailment and emergency services being alerted at 9.40am.
The ScotRail train had turned back after encountering a landslip near Carmont on its way from Aberdeen to Glasgow. The driver requested permission from signallers to return along the track, and walked through the train to the rear locomotive to head back north. The train derailed before it reached nearby Stonehaven.
The crash occurred in a rural area with poor mobile reception. According to some reports, a member of the public alerted emergency services before a crew member contacted signallers using Network Rail’s trackside fixed phone line.
Speaking after a visit to the scene on Thursday morning, the UK transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said he had asked Network Rail to carry out a quick resilience check and compile a more comprehensive check of its network. “We absolutely must make sure we learn every possible lesson from a tragedy like this,” he said.
At her daily coronavirus briefing, Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, thanked the emergency services for “immense professionalism and dedication to duty”.
She added: “Of course, I’m thinking particularly of the bereaved families who face an experience that all of us dread – coming to terms with the sudden and tragic loss of a loved one. No words can ease their pain nor the awful reality that they are now forced to confront. But the hearts of a nation are with them today.”
