Train drivers will boycott the type of train involved in the fatal crash near Stonehaven if their safety concerns are not taken seriously.
Kevin Lindsay, organiser at the ASLEF trade 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 “crashworthiness” were ignored, two years before the same trains were involved in the Stonehaven rail disaster.
Driver Brett McCullough, passenger Christopher Stuchbury and conductor Donald Dinnie died when the train hit a landslide 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 onto 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 (HST) first introduced over forty years ago.
In the wake of the crash report, a steering group has been set up to examine the safety of older trains on Scotland’s railways.
Twenty-five HSTs remain in operation north of the border.
Speaking to the Record, Lindsay said of the HSTs: “We want them phased out as quickly as possible. We also 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 12th next year - the third anniversary of the crash.”
Scottish Government 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 repeatedly flagged up concerns to safety chiefs two years before the tragedy.
The union asked the Office for Rail and Road for a report into HSTs, but they were rebuffed.
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.”
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