Question reference: S5W-36191
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 11 March 2021
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Current status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 March 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has received regarding whether the area around the Carmont derailment site was deemed to be an area of concern prior to the derailment.
Answer
Railway Safety is a matter reserved to the UK Government, and regulated by the UK Office of Rail and Road. The Scottish Government has funded the determination of the ORR for the current regulatory control period. The determination provides an increase in 21% in the funding available to Network Rail for the safe operation, maintenance and renewal of the Scottish Railway network.
The Scottish Government did not receive any information regarding the area around the Carmont site being an area of concern prior to the derailment in August 2020.
Further detail on the accident was made public by Network Rail in their Interim Report in September 2020. A key recommendation from that Report was to establish two GB wide Task Forces to examine the implications and detail future mitigations in respect of extreme weather and management of earthworks. Both Task Forces published their findings on 17 March 2021 and the Scottish Government is considering their conclusions.