2023-09-30 00:48:46
Several people were injured on Friday when two trains collided at a station in northern Scotland, AFP learned from a Scottish police spokesperson.
“At approximately 7:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. GMT) on Friday (…) we received a report of a collision between two trains at Aviemore station” in the Highlands region, the spokesperson said. Two people were taken to a nearby hospital and “a number of other passengers are being treated at the scene”, he added.
“Light” collision
The National Railway Museum reported on X that “the Flying Scotsman steam locomotive was involved in the shunting incident at Aviemore station”. The Flying Scotsman is a century-old locomotive restored last year and was the first to reach 100 miles per hour (about 160 km/h).
We can confirm that steam locomotive Flying Scotsman has been involved in a shunting incident at Aviemore Station. We will provide further information once more details are known.
— National Railway Museum (@RailwayMuseum) September 29, 2023
The accident would have occurred on a “private (railway) track next to the main track”, according to a message published by the railway company ScotRail on X (formerly Twitter) to warn its customers that traffic was disrupted.
According to the Scottish daily The Scotsman, the collision occurred when the locomotive was maneuvering to be hooked up to the carriages of the Royal Scotsman, a luxury train owned by the Belmond hotel and leisure group. A Belmond spokesperson quoted by the newspaper described the collision as “slight”.
In 2020, three people were killed in the derailment of a train linking Aberdeen to Glasgow in the north-east of Scotland. The manager of the British rail network was fined 6.7 million pounds (7.8 million euros) in early September for breaches of safety regulations.
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