By Paul Reoch

DISASTER WAS averted yesterday after a locomotive smashed through a lorry trailer on a Perthshire level crossing just minutes before a busy sleeper train was due to speed through, and just after a passenger train had passed.

The engine driver escaped with only minor injuries but had to be cut free from the cab after the collision with the potato lorry, which spread debris 100 yards down the track.

The accident, which caused major disruption to the main line between Glasgow and Aberdeen, took place at 6.41am at the railway crossing at Whitemoss near Dunning, between Gleneagles and Perth.

The crossing is near the Whitemoss golf course, just nine miles from Perth.

British Transport Police said that the train driver was taken to Perth Royal Infirmary (PRI) with “slight” back injuries. The two people in the articulated lorry—the driver and his teenage son—were unhurt.

A spokesman said it could have been “a lot worse” with the passenger train having passed the area before the accident and the Inverness sleeper approaching around 15 minutes later.

Inspector Colin Munro, of British Transport Police, said that it was only luck that prevented a potential tragedy.

“There were passengers possibly going to work in the first train and then people travelling to Inverness in the sleeper train coming behind,” he said.

“Had it been a different train travelling on this occasion the outcome could have been far more serious.”

The single locomotive was on its way to the Highlands to clear snow.

The lorry, which is owned by a Dunning firm, was carrying potatoes. It is believed it slid on ice on the hill leading down to the crossing and was unable to stop before crashing through the barrier.

The driver was unable to move it off the line before the train arrived.

The wreckage of the aluminium trailer, which had been attached to the lorry, was carried along the line by the engine, with wooden crates of potatoes left strewn across the track.

The accident happened at an automatic half-barrier crossing.

However, Network Rail said there was no indication that the accident was caused by faults to the barrier, although that will be investigated.

The overnight snow which hit Perth and Kinross overnight could have been a factor, and this too will be looked into by investigators.

No one else was on board the engine, which was on its way to Inverness from Grangemouth.

The London to Inverness sleeper service travelling behind it was stopped at Gleneagles station.

Its 48 passengers were taken to Inverness by bus, arriving four hours late.

One of them commented, “It’s just typical of Britain, isn’t it…This is like the Third World—I mean look at us, it’s 2008.”

As emergency personnel cleared the debris from the line, rail services between Glasgow Queen Street and Aberdeen faced significant disruptions.

Trains were being diverted through Fife with delays of around 45 minutes experienced.

A spokesman for Network Rail told The Courier yesterday, “The engine was on its way to clear snow in the Highlands when it hit the lorry.

“The train driver had slight injuries and was treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken to PRI.

The spokesman continued, “This is the main route between Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness so there will be a knock-on to services.

“We will be looking to clear that up as soon as we can during the course of the day but obviously we will have to investigate the condition of the track and clear the debris from the line.

“There’s engineers on site at the moment and emergency services are in attendance.

“It’s going to have a knock-on effect right into the rush-hour so it will affect quite a lot of services.”

He continued, “Train services are being diverted through Fife so people travelling to Dundee and Aberdeen will still reach their destination. But they will have to add at least 45 minutes to their journey.”

The line reopened at 4.24pm.

A spokesperson for Direct Rail Services, whose locomotive struck the trailer, said, “DRS’s driver, who acted with great professionalism during the incident, was taken to hospital having sustained minor injuries.”

A spokesperson for Tayside Fire and Rescue said that they had two appliances from Auchterarder along with a heavy rescue unit from Perth.

Later a Network Rail spokesman told The Courier that all possible causes of the accident would be looked into.

“There is an automatic half-barrier at this level crossing,” he said.

“If it is classed as a road accident then Tayside Police will take over the investigation but otherwise British Transport Police will look into the matter.”

The crash is just three miles from the scene of another rail incident at Forteviot on December 30, 2003, when a woman drove her car on to the crossing on the B934 Dunning to Upper Cairnie road.

The woman was subsequently fined £200 and disqualified from driving for two years after admitting driving carelessly. In addition, she agreed on out-of-court settlement with rail chiefs who were suing her for £156,960.