Inquiry Reveals Signaller's Normal Speed Order Before 2020 Train Crash

A fatal accident inquiry into the 2020 derailment of a passenger train in Aberdeenshire has heard that a signaller instructed the driver to proceed at normal speed just minutes before the crash, in full compliance with railway rules despite severe weather warnings across the network.

The incident occurred on August 12, 2020, when Train 1T08, a high-speed service from Aberdeen to Glasgow, struck a pile of gravel washed onto the tracks by heavy rainfall at Carmont near Stonehaven. The train, which had departed Aberdeen at 6:38 a.m., derailed after hitting the debris and then collided with a bridge parapet, causing carriages to scatter down an embankment. Of the nine people aboard, three died: driver Brett McCullough, 45; conductor Donald Dinnie, 58; and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62. The six remaining passengers suffered injuries, three requiring hospital treatment.

The inquiry at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, presided over by Sheriff Lesley Johnson, examined the sequence of events on Thursday. The train had passed the derailment site at 6:59 a.m. while heading south. Shortly after, the driver was instructed to stop and return to Stonehaven due to a landslip further ahead....