Drone surveys and weather tech among 50 recommendations to avoid repeat of Stonehaven rail tragedy

A ScotRail service derailed on 12 August after striking a landslip following 48 hours of storms in the area. Three people were killed.

Following the accident, Network Rail commissioned a weather advisory taskforce – led by Dame Julia Slingo – and an earthworks management taskforce – led by Lord Robert Mair – which have now published independent reviews looking at how the railway can better cope with extreme weather.

Along with increased helicopter and drones inspections, particularly after intense rainfall, accelerated deployment of state-of-the-art weather forecasting capabilities through digital platforms is also put forward.

The reports add that culture and organisational change should be considered, with the workforce upskilled to better access, interpret and use weather data and technology, to carry out inspections and examinations of earthworks and drainage, and to improve knowledge and competencies consistently across the organisation.

Other recommendations include more focus on drainage initiatives and reviewing commercial contracts and services.

Overall, the findings in the reports show that the challenge of climate change on the railway is "substantial", with most earthworks alongside the tracks built around 150 years ago and poorly engineered by modern standards. When combined with heavier rainfall, as has been experienced in recent years, landslips and flooding can occur.

The reviews recognise that it is not practical to rebuild nearly 200,000 separate slopes alongside 32,000km of track, and they commend the work that has been done to upgrade the Victorian infrastructure where possible and manage risk across the network. Investment in resilience work has almost doubled in the past decade, and new systems, technology, standards and practices have been introduced or updated.

They also note that this work has accelerated further since the summer, with trials of new technology being rolled out more widely across the network, and new dynamic, route-based weather forecasts, using the latest science, trialled in cooperation with the Met Office. Network Rail has also published its Environmental Sustainability Strategy, a plan to reduce carbon emissions and help tackle climate change at its root, rather than only dealing with its effects.

However, while acknowledging the significant amount of work being undertaken, the reports show that there is more that can be done and offer over 50 recommendations for Network Rail to now look at in detail. All recommendations from the reports are currently being analysed, with some already implemented.

Network Rail safety and engineering director Martin Frobisher said that while the UK's railway is "one of the safest in Europe", something "went tragically wrong at Stonehaven".

“Heavy rain caused ground slips on many occasions across the entire network last year and although tragic accidents are thankfully incredibly rare and none other than Stonehaven caused injuries, it is clear that extreme weather presents a significant challenge to the way we safely and reliably manage railway infrastructure," he said.

“We do a vast amount to tackle the effects of climate change already but there is more to do. We established two independent, expert taskforces led by world-class specialists to investigate the problems we face and, crucially, to guide us as we make substantial improvements.

“We will carefully consider every single recommendation and develop a science-backed improvement plan, to target available money and technology in the best possible way. This is a real breakthrough.”

Transport secretary Grant Shapps described the incident at Stonehaven as "devastating".

He added: “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. This document sets out how our investment can enhance the resilience of our rail network against climate change and incidents of extreme weather in the future.

“We will be considering these findings carefully as we progress these works at pace.”

Lord Mair and Dame Julia have both been retained to act as mentors and provide links to a wider group of engineering and scientific peers as longer-term recommendations are considered and implemented.

Shapps has also called for a network-wide review of the impact of climate change on the resilience and safe performance of the railway, and in particular how earthworks are managed. An initial report was provided in the weeks following the accident and an update was delivered yesterday, informed by the two taskforce reviews.

The update details plans to take forward recommendations from the reviews. It also includes independent assessments of Network Rail's current practices and recommendations of further steps the rail operator could take, such as working with the Met Office to develop and use a tool which identifies higher-risk rainfall events from the 30 predominant weather patterns in the UK.

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