Three men who were killed in a train derailment suffered unsurvivable injuries in the crash, a fatal accident inquiry has been told.
Train driver Brett McCullough, 45, conductor Donald Dinnie, 58, and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62, died in the tragedy at Carmont near Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, on 12 August 2020.
Six other people were also injured when the ScotRail service from Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street came off the tracks after it hit a landslide following heavy rain.
A fatal accident inquiry (FAI), which began at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Monday, heard Mr Stuchbury was “thrown clear of the train” by the derailment, while the body of Mr McCullough was found on the lower part of the embankment where the carriage vehicles had scattered after striking a bridge parapet.
Mr Dinnie’s body was stuck in the doorway of coach D and could not be retrieved until the following day, the inquiry was told.
Alex Prentice KC, Crown counsel for the inquiry, said post-mortems showed the three men suffered multiple blunt force injuries.
Reading out the joint minute, he stated: “It was judged that these injuries were non-survivable and death would likely have been immediate.”
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Mr Prentice read out parts of a statement written by Diane Stuchbury, Mr Stuchbury’s wife, who said her husband died on their wedding anniversary.
Her statement read: “Every day with Chris was a gift.
“The most loving, kind, wise, and loyal man you could ever wish to meet.
“The 12th of August used to be a special day in our house: the day we married.”
Mrs Stuchbury said the crash that claimed her husband’s life “should have never happened”, adding they “have been robbed of their future together as a couple”.
Mr Dinnie’s family said in their statement: “He was loved and adored by all his family and friends. He will be forever missed.”
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Emergency crews who attended the crash site after the alarm was raised were confronted with a “highly complex incident”, with two firefighters becoming injured during the course of the operation.
Nick Bucknall, an inspector of rail accidents with the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB), told the inquiry the passenger train collided with “debris washed from a drain onto the track near Carmont, Aberdeenshire, following very heavy rainfall” at about 9.37am.
The train was travelling at 73mph at the time of the crash.
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Summarising the factors that led to the derailment, Mr Bucknall said: “The drainage system was unable to accommodate the flow of surface water.
“The gravel in the drainage trench was vulnerable to washout. Network Rail did not have arrangements for additional operational mitigation.
“The speed of train 1T080 was not restricted.”
Network Rail was fined £6.7m in 2023 after pleading guilty to health and safety failings which led to the deaths.
In the same year, almost £1m in damages was secured from the rail operator for seven people affected by the crash.
A RAIB report published in March 2022 found errors in the construction of a drainage system installed by Carillion meant it was unable to cope with heavy rain which fell in the area on the morning of the crash.
Carillion went into compulsory liquidation in January 2018.
The RAIB report made 20 recommendations to improve railway safety, many of which were directed at Network Rail.
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Network Rail said its thoughts continue to remain with the families and loved ones of those affected by the derailment.
A spokesperson added: “The RAIB report into Carmont made clear that there were fundamental lessons to be learnt by Network Rail and since August 2020 we’ve been working hard to make our railway safer for our passengers and colleagues.
“We’re committed to supporting the work of the inquiry and continuing to deliver on the recommendations made by RAIB.
“We’ve made significant changes to how we manage the risk of severe weather since the accident and our work to make our network more resilient will continue.”
The FAI is expected to continue until 13 February, resuming on 23 February for a final week.
