A Glasgow-bound train which was derailed near Stonehaven is being recovered from the site of the crash. 

The first of the derailed carriages is being removed from the site today. 

The service came off the tracks on August 2, killing driver Brett McCullough, conductor Donald Dinnie and passenger Christopher Stuchbury.

An interim report from Network Rail has revealed the train hit a pile of "washed-out rock and gravel before derailing”.

Glasgow Times:

Network Rail has since conducted 584 inspections of sites which share some of the characteristics of the location of the Stonehaven crash. 

Glasgow Times:

Glasgow Times:

But it has warned that it cannot afford to strengthen all “substandard” trackside slopes, despite the fatal Stonehaven crash. 

The report added they "expect there will still be earthwork failures as a result of challenging weather”.

READ MORE: Here’s the location of every speed camera in Glasgow

Glasgow Times:

Glasgow Times:

The Department for Transport, which commissioned the report, said that from 2019-2024 Network Rail is investing £1.3 billion in strengthening the railway’s resilience to extreme weather.

This is compared with £550 million from 2009-2014 and £952 million from 2014-2019.

Glasgow Times:

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “The independent investigation will enable us to understand exactly what went wrong, and make sure it does not happen again.

“We cannot delay learning the lessons. That is why I immediately commissioned this report and am making the interim findings available.

“I welcome the work setting out the challenges in adapting our rail infrastructure to cope with increasing extreme weather events caused by climate change. The task is now to overcome those challenges.”

Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines said: “We are all aware that we are increasingly seeing more incidents of severe weather and, as the report published today shows, earthworks and drainage infrastructure, some of which are more than 150 years old, prove to be a real challenge as the country experiences more heavy rainfall and flooding.

“We are improving and accelerating our resilience work and will do everything we can to minimise the impact of weather on the safety and reliability of the railway as our climate continues to change.”

Mr Shapps is writing to the Chief Constable of Police Scotland, Iain Thomas Livingstone, to recommend that Pc Liam Mercer, one of the first officers on the scene at Stonehaven, is commended for his bravery.