Driver charged after lorry crashes onto railway line

A driver has been arrested and charged after his lorry careered off the A74(M) motorway and crashed onto a railway line near Gretna.

The incident, which involved a lorry from Kinaxia Logistics, resulted in rail services being cancelled on the line for 11 hours while it was closed for repairs on Friday (December 13).  

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service sent four appliances and a specialist unit, while the ambulance service sent an ambulance and a paramedic response unit.

The driver was taken to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary. Police said he had been charged with a road traffic offence.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were alerted at 7.57am on Friday, 13 December, to reports of a lorry which came off the road on the M74, near to Junction 22 at Springfield, Gretna.

“Operations Control mobilised four appliances and special resources to the scene, where crews assisted emergency partners with the recovery of a lorry which was affecting the railway line.

“One casualty was taken into the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service and transported to hospital.

“Crews remained at the scene until 9.56am to make sure the area was made safe.”

Kinaxia said it was not commenting on the incident.

Selby crash ‘lessons not learned’

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has said it will not be making any further enquiries following the crash.

But, a former MP for Carlisle said that there should have been crash barriers up on the line to prevent the crash from happening.

“Lessons have not been learned after the Selby crash, in which 10 people died,” Eric Martlew told the News and Star. 

“There should have been crash barriers to stop this; if a train had been coming, there could have been many fatalities. This was done in many parts of the rail network

“The question to ask is, will they now erect them at this site?”

The RAIB has ruled out an investigation as there was no moving train in the vicinity of the lorry at the time of the crash.

A spokesperson for the Rail Accident Investigation Branch said: “RAIB were notified of the incident, however based on our understanding of the circumstances (that there was no moving train in the vicinity) we are not making any further enquiries. 

“The incident is classified as a road traffic accident.”