The next stage in the recovery and reinstatement work has been started by Network Rail after the Stonehaven derailment back in August.

Engineers have begun relaying more than 500 metres of the track after repair work to the bridge and embankment was completed.

Work will continue through November as Network Rail remove and replace track and also replace 400 metres of telecoms cable.

Engineers have worked day and night recently to complete repairs to 70 metres of bridge parapets and remove the crane pad built over the Carron Water for the recovery of the train.

A rather significant amount of engineering work is also being completed to repair and extend the drainage systems of the track and embankments.

Back on the 12th August 2020, the 06:38 Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street ScotRail service derailed after hitting a landslip, with the devastating loss of driver Brett McCullough, conductor Donald Dinnie and passenger, Christopher Stuchbury.

Alex Hynes, managing director of Scotland’s Railway, said: “This is a very complex and challenging recovery and repair operation and it will take time for our engineers to fully restore the track and other infrastructure.

“While we will reopen the line for customers as soon as possible, our focus throughout the recovery process has been on making sure we do all we can to learn from this terrible accident and try to prevent similar incidents happening in the future.”

Currently, ScotRail is operating a shuttle service between Aberdeen and Stonehaven and also between Dundee and Montrose to keep passengers moving.

After the incident, Network Rail introduced a range of new safety measures and also checked other sites which were similar to Stonehaven.

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