Rail drivers will boycott the type of train involved in the fatal crash near Stonehaven unless their safety concerns are taken
seriously.
Kevin Lindsay, organiser at the ASLEF union, said the action could be taken next year after their initial warnings were ignored.
The Daily Record revealed yesterday that ASLEF wrote to rail safety watchdogs to raise concerns about the ageing HST (high-speed trains) fleet in 2018.
But their concerns about the model’s “crash-worthiness” were ignored, two years before the same trains were involved in the disaster.
Driver Brett McCullough, passenger Christopher Stuchbury and conductor Donald Dinnie died when the train hit a landslide at Carmont, near Stonehaven in August 2020.
A report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) found failings by Network Rail and Carillion led to the crash.
The train derailed after hitting gravel and stony material washed on to the tracks by intense rain due to faults in a drainage system.
But the RAIB also said the outcome would likely have been better if the train had met crashworthiness standards introduced in 1994.
The model that derailed at Carmont was a high-speed train first introduced more than 40 years ago.
In the wake of the crash report, a steering group has been set up to examine the safety of older trains.
Some 25 HSTs remain in operation in Scotland. Lindsay said: “We want them phased out as quickly as possible.
"We understand the practicalities and will participate in the steering group. If the group just pays lip service to safety concerns, our members will boycott these trains from August 12 next year – the third anniversary of the crash.”
Transport Secretary Jenny Gilruth said this week she was seeking an urgent meeting with her UK Government counterpart, Grant Shapps, to discuss the report.
The report highlighted that “lifeguards” – metal brackets in front of the lead wheels of a train – were less robust than on modern trains. Gilruth also said the train involved in the Stonehaven crash met the legal requirements for operation.
As revealed by the Record, ASLEF flagged up fears to safety chiefs two years before the tragedy. The union asked the Office for Rail and Road for a report into HSTs, but were rebuffed.
ScotRail chief operating officer Ian McConnell 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.”
