HST derailment, near Stonehaven, 12th August 2020

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Stonehaven Train Derailment, what we know

⁃ Near #Stonehaven, #Aberdeenshire
⁃ Smoke seen rising from area
⁃ Large emergency service response
⁃ Flooding in the area overnight
⁃ Possibly a British Rail Class 43 (HST^▸ (High Speed Train))
⁃ First call to emergency services made at 9:43

Edit - 16th August to add ... this has turned out to be the worst railway accident in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) for many years and there is a long follow up in this thread.  There are certain aspects which are being shared in our "Frequent Poster" area rather than in public, and members logged in and with an established posting record can read that additional thread at http://www.passenger.chat/23893

[grahame]

Stonehaven Train Derailment, what we know

⁃ Near #Stonehaven, #Aberdeenshire
⁃ Smoke seen rising from area
⁃ Large emergency service response
⁃ Flooding in the area overnight
⁃ Possibly a British Rail Class 43 (HST^▸ (High Speed Train))
⁃ First call to emergency services made at 9:43

https://ukupdates.co.uk/major-incident-declared-after-train-derailment-near-stonehaven/

Emergency services are dealing with a derailed train near Stonehaven.

There is a growing number of emergency services at the scene including an air ambulance, Close by large plumes of smoke can be seen.

It is not yet clear if there are any injuries however there are unconfirmed reports of at least one fatality and numerous injuries.

From Twitter

#BREAKING First image from train derailment in #Stonehaven massive emergency service response. #Train #Crash #Aberdeenshire

Andy Roden @AndyRoden1
·

Re #Stonehaven: it's very, very important not to start speculating at this early stage about reasons, causes and details. Let @BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) and emergency services do their job - the facts will come out in due course.

[Electric train]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-53751678

[Western Pathfinder]

Front power car and all Four coaches are said to be off the road and down the embankment,thoughts go to all involved, hearing that it's a early service To Glasgow from Aberdeen let's hope it was lightly loaded.

From incident report,via source,Six Passengers and Three crew on board one Mk3 said to have suffered a fire.

[TonyK]

There are other reports, which add little to the knowledge. This sounds very serious - let's hope that the damage is confined to machines, not people.

[grahame]

Front power car and all Four coaches are said to be off the road and down the embankment,thoughts go to all involved, hearing that it's a early service To Glasgow from Aberdeen let's hope it was lightly loaded.

From incident report,via source,Six Passengers and Three crew on board one Mk3 said to have suffered a fire.

Rather duplicating your report ... couple of extra elements

Richard Clinnick
@Richard_rail

Incident log suggests 3 crew members and 6 passengers on board. At least one Mk 3 was on fire.

The @ScotRail IC7 set was returning north on the Down Main having encountered a landalip further south when the accident happened.

The front power car and all four of @ScotRail set HA22 went down the embankment near #stonehaven

As per Andy Roden earlier, best not to speculate on details.  Thank goodness the train was quiet; still terrible and thoughts with all those concerned.

[grahame]

And across Scotland ... Network Rail Scotland reports on Twitter ...

THREAD: With lightning strikes and intensely heavy rain falling overnight across Scotland, we’re seeing disruption to many routes. We’ll give a rundown of the incidents we’re dealing with below. Please keep checking with your train operator for service info

Between Burntisland & Kinghorn, we’ve had reports of two landslips, which have blocked the line. We’re working closely with the emergency services here. /1

At Carmont, we’ve had reports of a landslip, which means services can’t operate between Dundee & Aberdeen. /2

At Cardenden on the Fife Circle, we’ve seen a landslip, and we need to inspect a viaduct following high water levels overnight. There are also signalling faults at Cowdenbeath, caused by flooding and lightning strikes. /3

At Perth, we’ve seen flooding in the station area, and also at Auchterarder, this has also damaged signalling equipment, meaning trains can’t run towards Inverness or depart Perth heading south. /4

Between Stirling & Dunblane, overhead line equipment has been damaged by lightning strikes meaning trains can’t run. We’ve identified the damage, and our team are mobilising to repair it. It’ll take a couple of hours though. /5

At Polmont, severe flooding has closed the line between here & Bo’ness. This affects our Glasgow – Edinburgh via Falkirk High/Grahamston and Glasgow – Stirling routes. /6


At Blackridge, between Airdrie & Bathgate, we’re dealing with flooding. The line is open, but  @ScotRail services are travelling through the affected area at 5mph. /7

At Hartwood, near Shotts, flooding has closed the line between Glasgow Central and West Calder. /8

There are further issues emerging caused by heavy rain and lightning strikes overnight. We're working hard to reopen all routes where it's safe to do so and monitoring the forecast closely as more thunder and lightning is expected. We'll keep you updated as the day goes on. /9

Serious, but pale into insignificance compared to the Stonehaven derailment.

[grahame]

From The Courier

Nicola Sturgeon confirms ‘serious injuries’ as train derailment sparked major emergency response between Dundee and Aberdeen

A fair amount of text in there ... I will updates (and others please do too) as significant news comes / may cut some of that back into edits on the end of existing posts.

[TonyK]

There is a report of a fatality according to the Press and Journal. The live blog in the report suggests that some people may have been "submerged"".

[broadgage]

Later report from BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page).
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-53751678

Includes a video of the scene from a distance, which does not add much, and an indirectly relevant view of Stonehaven town center showing the flooding.

(I know someone who lives fairly near the scene, but they are not able to add much to published reports, they did observe a helicopter flying near the scene, not clear if it was air ambulance, or simply inspecting the scene. They describe the weather as being exceptional, in an area known for rough weather)

[broadgage]

UNCONFIRMED REPORTS on the websites of two local newspapers suggest that a life MAY have been lost in this accident.
"one feared dead in train crash" read the headlines. Very sad IF confirmed.

(if you visit the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) news report, links at the bottom of the page to "other media" give links to the local papers. Beware adverts and clickbait, in the newspaper websites, some of which are in EXTREMELY poor taste under the circumstances)

[TonyK]

(Photo taken down until I know it's genuine.)

[JayMac]

There are photos of the scene. It doesn't look good. One power car completely engulfed in flames.

[JayMac]

The Scotsman are now reporting one person dead with concerns there may be a second fatality.

https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/stonehaven-one-dead-after-scotrail-train-derailment-aberdeenshire-2939946

[TonyK]

From Twitter: