TRAIN drivers’ union Aslef has welcomed an interim report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) into a train crash at Stonehaven last year which claimed the lives of three people.

The union said that extensive safety checks must be carried out to ensure there is not a repeat of the incident which saw a ScotRail train derailed after hitting stones washed onto the track on August 12 following heavy rain.

The RAIB said that there was “no evidence” a drainage system involved in the fatal accident in Aberdeenshire had been fully inspected since its construction in 2012, with an investigation set to focus on the “lack of an effective drainage inspection regime.”