COMMUTERS in the North-east could face further disruption today after a train derailment brought chaos to the railway network yesterday.
The front wheels of the 8:04am CrossCountry Trains service between Edinburgh and Aberdeen came off the tracks at Inverkeilor, between Arbroath and Montrose in Angus, at 9:45am.
Passengers were led to safety from the rear coach and there were no injuries. But last night, officials from First ScotRail and Network Rail were unable to say when full services would be back to normal.
Dozens of trains between Aberdeen and Glasgow and Edinburgh are expected to be disrupted until the investigation into the derailment and safety checks are complete.
The knock-on impact forced ScotRail, which runs most trains in Scotland, to put on alternative transport for passengers yesterday. Replacement buses were added between Dundee and Montrose, and a train shuttle service ran between Montrose and Aberdeen. The sleeper train was replaced with bus connections from Aberdeen to Edinburgh, then train on to London Euston.
In a statement after the incident, train operating company CrossCountry said: “The front wheels of the train became derailed, but the train remained upright. There are 36 passengers and two crew members on board. There are no reports of any injuries.
“Emergency services are attending the site along with rail personnel. Arrangements are being made to take passengers from the train and on to their destinations.
“Rail services are currently suspended in the area and replacement road transport is being arranged. A full investigation will be undertaken to determine the cause of the incident.”
A spokesman for Network Rail said they were working with the Rail Accident Investigation Branch to determine the cause of the derailment. He added: “We will reopen the line as soon as is possible, but it is too early to say at this stage when that will be.”
ScotRail’s official Twitter feed said they expected the line to be cleared by midnight on Monday, but the firm’s spokesman said they could not confirm when trains would resume. He added: “People should allow extra time for their journey today.”
In May, rail services were brought to a standstill between Aberdeen and Stonehaven after four wagons of a freight train came off the tracks, blocking the east coast main line in both directions.
A south-bound freight train had been pulling 25 cylindrical freight containers when the wagons came off the tracks near East Tullos on the outskirts of Aberdeen. Nobody was injured in the accident and the freight wagons were empty.
In June, torrential rain led to a landslide, blocking the West Highland line between Crianlarich and Mallaig and causing a 24-wagon train came off the tracks near Tulloch.