A steering group has been set up to examine the safety of older trains on Scotland’s railways, following the publication of a report into the Stonehaven rail crash.

       While the crash was caused by the train hitting gravel which had been washed onto the track, the report found the train involved was designed before modern safety standards were introduced.

       Three people, including the train’s driver and conductor, died in the accident in August 2020.

       The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said the outcome likely would have been better if the train had met crashworthiness standards introduced in 1994.

       Jenny Gilruth responded to the report in the Scottish Parliament (Fraser Bremner)

       (PA Archive)

       Recommended Ukraine latest updates: Russian tanks destroyed outside of Kyiv Why has Russia invaded Ukraine? The conflict explained Sign The Independent’s petition to help the people of Ukraine

       The Scottish Government’s Transport Secretary, Jenny Gilruth, updated MSPs on the response to the RAIB report on Thursday afternoon.

       She said: “Transport Scotland will convene a steering group to take forward implementation of the recommendations about the safety performance in accidents of older rolling stock, including HST (High Speed Train) rolling stock on ScotRail.”

       She also said she was seeking an urgent meeting with her UK Government counterpart, Grant Shapps, to discuss the report.

       The report highlighted that “lifeguards” – metal brackets in front of the lead wheels of a train – were less robust than on modern trains.

       It recommended investigating the feasibility of strengthening the lifeguards on HST power cars.

       Ms Gilruth said the train involved in the Stonehaven crash met the legal requirements for operation.

       Scottish Labour MSP, Neil Bibby, said the Aslef union was calling for HST rolling stock to be phased out by August next year and asked the minister when they would be withdrawn from service.

       We now need to look at that stock and ensure that a disaster like this never happens again

       Jenny Gilruth

       She said: “The trains in question were safe to be running.

       “They’re older trains undoubtedly. They met the standards and requirements at the time when they were built.

       “We now need to look at that stock and ensure that a disaster like this never happens again.”

       She added: “We will come to looking at a date in the future which we may be able to remove some of these trains from service.

       Recommended Royal Cornwall Hospital suspends visits to tackle rising Covid cases How can Ukrainians apply for a visa to come to the UK? Steve Rowe: The M&S boss departing after almost 40 years at the retail giant

       “But I need to convene that steering group and I need to look forward to what that would mean for the current fleet of trains and what that would mean for the viability of rail travel in Scotland just now.”

       The rail network is currently “quite reliant” on HSTs, she said.