LUCKY TO LIVE

FRIGHTENED rail passengers screamed as they were thrown from their seats in darkness yesterday when their train was derailed by a landslide.

The early Inverness to Edinburgh service was brought to a halt ten miles south of the Highland capital.

The blood-soaked driver, thought to have broken his nose, walked a mile to the road to raise the alarm.

He, a conductor and seven of the 94 passengers - many travelling to the Scotland rugby match against New Zealand - were flown by RAF helicopter to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

One was stretchered from the front carriage of the ScotRail train with a suspected broken collar bone.

Others airlifted included a pregnant woman and mother and child.

A hospital spokesman said the injuries were mainly minor and none was life-threatening. Two of the nine injured taken to hospital in Inverness were detained overnight. A woman was kept in with a suspected broken collar bone, while a man was being checked for back injuries.

The train driver, in his 40s, was one of the seven discharged after treatment for facial injuries. In a statement released by First ScotRail, he described the moments leading up to the collision.

"I was driving between Culloden and Moy and going round a curve when about 30 yards in front I saw a blockage on the line," he said.

"As I tried to stop the train it hit the debris, throwing me about the cab. I struck my face on the driver's desk. I contacted operational control asking them to alert emergency services. I also contacted the signaller at Aviemore to let him know about the incident.

"I then went into the front of the coach and arranged for everyone to be moved."

Police, firemen and ambulance crews were alerted to the emergency at 7.16am, just 28 minutes after the journey began.

RAF Kinloss mountain rescue team were diverted from training at Aviemore to help the passengers

The three-carriage train had collided with a landslide, causing the front carriage to derail at Moy, near Daviot, Inverness-shire, just next to a river which had swollen after rain and snow showers the day before. Many passengers said they were lucky to be alive, as the train might have toppled into the river.

Michael Nicol, 26, a hydro-electrician from Inverness, said: "It was just pitch black as we hit something, which we later discovered was a landslide.

"We were forced into the air and I hit my stomach against the table. The carriage tilted over to its right and we eventually came to a halt.

"There was a lot of screaming as people were thrown from their seats."

Ian Munro, 36, said: "We were very lucky. It was a lucky escape. I have never experience anything like that.

Louise Watson, of Kiltarlity, added: "It was very dark and we didn't know what was going on. It was just panic and everyone was screaming."

Mary Dickson, First ScotRail's managing director, said: "Passengers' comments about the driver's response and actions of the conductor, catering team and off-duty staff travelling on the train are a testament to their commitment to the job and their training."

'IT WAS QUITE A SHOCK'COLIN MACRAE, 48, of Nairn, was going to Edinburgh for the rugby.

He said: "We were in the second carriage and we felt the front carriage take a jump. The brakes went on then the train came to a sudden halt. It was quite a shock as the train sloped to a 30 degree angle.

"The people in the front carriage were in shock. But the rescue people were here very promptly and it was all dealt with very well."

'RESCUERS WERE TERRIFIC'

CAROL GARDNER, 43, also a rugby fan - from Inverness - said: "When we came off the tracks it was quite frightening. We were sliding along and then came to a halt. People were being thrown into the air. The conductor was thrown up and hit the ceiling.

"We didn't seem to be going fast, but we were told it was about 55mph. If we'd been going faster it would have been bad. The rescue guys were terrific."

'WE LURCHED FORWARD'

JOHN SCANLON, a 54-year-old explosives engineer from from North Uist, said: "I was just sitting reading the morning papers when there was this bang and we just lurched forward.

"I got thrown up into the air and then back down into the seat again.

"The First ScotRail staff were excellent while we passengers waited for the rescue people to appear."

Copyright 2005 MGN LTD
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