Driver charged after HGV crashes down embankment onto rail line

A HGV driver has been charged after his vehicle crashed down an embankment onto the railway line.

The incident happened just before 8am, near Gretna. No trains have been able to run between Carlisle and Dumfries all day as emergency services cleared the lorry off the line so Network Rail could begin repairs.

The A74(M) southbound near Gretna was down to one lane and the slip road at Junction 22 closed to allow for the recovery of the vehicle.

The driver was taken to hospital in Dumfries as a precaution and has since been charged by Police Scotland with a road traffic offence.

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said, “We dispatched one ambulance and one paramedic response unit to the scene. One patient was transported to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary.”

ScotRail said all stations between Dumfries and Carlisle "cannot be served by train" and warned that was likely to continue "for the remainder of the day".

Phil Campbell, ScotRail Customer Operations Director, said: “ScotRail services between Glasgow Central and Carlisle via Dumfries are currently disrupted.

"To keep people moving, customers with valid train tickets can travel on alternative routes where possible, with replacement buses also in operation. Anyone delayed by 30 minutes or more can claim compensation through our Delay Repay Guarantee.”

The West Coast Mainline and Glasgow and South Western Line were initially closed as a precaution but reopened a short time after. Avanti West Coast and Transpennine Express services between Glasgow, Lockerbie and Carlisle are still running.

Network Rail engineers were able to fully inspect the track once the lorry was removed this afternoon and say they are working to reopen the line "as soon as it is safe to do so".

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