FAILURE to fully implement safety recommendations following the Carmont rail crash is continuing to put workers and passengers in danger, rail union RMT warned today.

Tuesday marked five years since the derailment, caused by a landslip in heavy rain near Carmont, west of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire.

The crash claimed the lives of three people – RMT conductor Donald Dinnie, train driver Brett McCullough and passenger Chris Stuchbury.

Six others were also injured, including RMT guard Nicola Whyte, who continued to carry out her duties despite being badly hurt in the accident.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) issued 20 safety recommendations in its final report into the tragedy in 2022.

However, this year’s RAIB report shows that eight are still outstanding.
 
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “It is outrageous that five years after the accident took place, and three years since the RAIB set out what needed to change, so many safety recommendations are still outstanding.
 
“We demand better — for those we lost, for those who survived and for the safety of every worker and passenger going forward.”

TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said: “Events like Stonehaven must not happen again and that means continued vigilance and the highest safety standards.

“Every single recommendation from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report into this tragedy must be implemented without delay.”

A Network Rail spokesperson said: ”We’re investing more than £400m in projects to strengthen the railway’s resilience to increasingly unpredictable weather.

“Meaningful progress has been made on the recommendations from the Carmont investigation, which includes co-ordinated action across all Network Rail routes, and we continue to work closely with the ORR, train operators, and other key stakeholders.”

The Department for Transport was contacted for comment.