There is no need to “reinvestigate” a report into the train derailment which claimed three lives near Stonehaven in 2020, a sheriff has said.
An inquiry hearing heard there is no dispute around a Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report into the incident.
Train driver Brett McCullough, 45; conductor Donald Dinnie, 58; and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62; died in the derailment near Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, on August 12 2020.
A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) is expected to begin in January next year.
The RAIB report published in March 2022 found errors in the construction of a drainage system installed by Carillion meant it was unable to cope with heavy rain which fell in the area on the morning of the crash.
A preliminary hearing was held virtually from Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Monday.
Sheriff Lesley Johnston said there is no dispute that “the RAIB is a highly specialist and expert body”, adding: “No participant takes any issue with the investigation”.
The sheriff also discussed the Norfolk principle and the extent to which it applies in Scotland.
This legal principle means that coroner’s inquests south of the border generally do not reinvestigate matters already covered by reports from bodies like the RAIB.
However, sheriff Johnston said she was not persuaded the Norfolk principle should be applied “wholesale”.
She added: “All parties agree that there is no public interest in having a reinvestigation of matters already investigated and reported on by the RAIB.”
Further preliminary hearings are expected to take place this year and the FAI was fixed to commence on January 26.
