Stonehaven report sets out measures to boost rail resilience

Network Rail publishes report on strengthening the resilience of the UK's rail network against extreme weather conditions following the 2020 Stonehaven tragedy.

The government has today (17 March 2021) published Network Rail’s final report on how the resilience of the UK’s rail network can be improved, in light of the Stonehaven tragedy last year.

The report was commissioned by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps immediately after the incident, in which 3 people died when a passenger train hit a landslip and derailed while travelling through bad weather near Carmont, Aberdeenshire.

The document is informed by the work of 2 independent taskforces – one which looks at weather conditions and the other at earthworks management – and includes a range of recommendations to further safeguard railways from extreme weather.

Network Rail has already started implementing some of these recommendations, building on an acceleration of works and investment in the resilience of the UK’s railways over the last decade.

The accident at Stonehaven in August was devastating, and my thoughts remain with the families of Brett McCullough, Donald Dinnie and Christopher Stuchbury, who tragically lost their lives.

We must do everything we can to keep our railways safe, and I immediately commissioned this report so that lessons would be learnt without delay.

These findings will inform our work as we push ahead with measures to make our railway more resilient in future and less vulnerable to sudden tragedies like that near Stonehaven.

Safety is our absolute priority, which is why we have instructed Network Rail to publish regular updates on how it will deliver these recommendations to give passengers confidence.