A ONE-MINUTE silence has been held for the victims of the Stonehaven rail crash one year on from the disaster.

Stations around the country fell silent at 9.43am, the time the derailment – which claimed three lives on August 12 last year – was first reported.

ScotRail said beforehand that all stations would observe the silence, with trains coming to a halt if safe to do so.

Customers were made aware through messages on information boards and in onboard announcements.

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Rail staff and emergency service workers were joined by passengers travelling through Glasgow Central Station on Thursday to observe the silence.

Staff from nearby shops including Boots also came out to the store entrances to pay their respects.

A wreath was laid at the platform the train left from in Aberdeen.

Driver Brett McCullough, 45, conductor Donald Dinnie, 58, and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62, died when the 6.38am Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street train crashed into a landslide across the tracks near Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, following heavy rain.

Six other people were injured onboard the train, which came off the tracks at 9.37am and would have been busier were it not for the pandemic, the rail union Aslef has said.

Network Rail’s interim report on the crash found the train “struck a pile of washed-out rock and gravel before derailing”.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch found there had been “near-continuous heavy rain” in the area between around 5.50am and 9am on the day of the crash, which caused “significant flooding”.

The 51.5mm (2in) of rain that fell in this period was almost 75% of the monthly total in Aberdeenshire in an average August.

But it was “dry and sunny” when the derailment happened.

The train was returning towards Aberdeen at the time of the accident due to the railway being blocked.

It was travelling at around 73mph – below the maximum permitted speed of 75mph for that section of track – when it struck the debris and derailed to the left, destroying a bridge barrier.

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Alex Hynes, Scotland’s Railway managing director, said: “Everyone at Scotland’s Railway will always be broken-hearted about the terrible accident at Stonehaven.

“Today, exactly a year on, we pay tribute to Brett, Donald and Christopher, who lost their lives, and also, of course, we remember those who were injured.

“We come together as Scotland’s Railway family and we send our love and support to everyone, particularly the loved ones of the deceased, who have been affected by the tragedy.

“We will never forget.”