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 hittinggravel 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

Gilruth said on Wednesday in a statement – in which she invited opposition MSPs to take part in a

With the chaos and confusion of lockdown life mostly behind us, Britons are being reminded just how valuable nature is.... At the height of the pandemic, when movement was restricted and people were encouraged to stay home, leisurely strolls across the countryside felt like a well-earned respite for many.... The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust is now encouraging people to carry on the tradition of countryside walks this September, with the added goal of raising funds for vital conservatio

The British countryside is a gem and there is nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world, according to the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust( GWCT).... Unlike the sweeping planes of the Serengeti or the unblemished wilderness of the Sierra Mountains, Britain's land has been worked for thousands of years – and you can see it.... The UK's total land area amounts to about 24 million hectares, of which about 75 percent is presently used for farming. The staggering impact agriculture has h

Scottish Labour’s former leader Kezia Dugdale admitted that she voted for the SNP because she was “ mad about Brexit ”.... “ I don’t fear a general election at all.... I see it’s a huge opportunity, ” he said. The first minister added: “ There’s no getting away from the fact that 2023 was a difficult year....

Ferry operator CalMac has failed to communicate on “ decimated ” services for island communities as yet more delays were announced to the construction of new vessels, Western Isles Council has said. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has accused senior management at CalMac of deciding to “ hunker down ” away from the islands and breaking a promise to engage with the local authority. With broken boats and dry dock repair delays causing further cancellations, the council bemoaned a lack of communication fr

Thousands of Scotland supporters, many without tickets, descended on the capital to watch their team play England on June 18. Figures from Public Health Scotland linked 1, 294 coronavirus cases to the Tartan Army’s time in London.Ms Sturgeon has been accused of rewriting history after claiming the Scottish government was “ very explicit ” in urging fans not to travel unless they had tickets. Scotland was only allocated 2, 600 tickets for the match, with ticketless fans congregating around Leices

SP Energy Networks has issued safety advice around potential power cuts as Scotland braces for Storm Malik. Amber and yellow weather warnings are in place for this weekend as gusts of up to 80mph are due to hit the country. The yellow warnings cover all of Scotland and much of northern England while the amber warning is in place for eastern Scotland on Saturday.SP Energy Networks, the company responsible for electricity transmission in central and southern Scotland, said traffic delays should be

Scottish ministers have been urged to give up their taxpayer-funded, chauffeur-driven cars until chaos on Scotland’s nationalised trains is resolved. Anas Sarwar said tens of thousands of people were being left stranded after work due to a drastically scaled-back timetable, imposed this week after drivers stopped working overtime amid a pay dispute. Most services are ending several hours early, with ScotRail refusing to organise any replacement buses. The Scottish Labour leader on Thursday told

A mother-of-two who had a lifesaving heart transplant seven years after her husband died with an unexplained heart condition has been reunited with their sons after 190 days in hospital. Nicola Sharpe, 48, of Southend in Essex, said she was determined to get back home to her boys, aged nine and 12, and “ didn’t want them to lose both parents ”.... The secondary school teacher was admitted to specialist heart and lung centre Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge in August last year for treatment