The last of the carriages has been removed from the scene of last month’s tragic derailment near Stonehaven.
Work began earlier this month to start clearing the track at Carmont, near Stonehaven, after three men died in a crash on August 12.
Driver Brett McCullough, conductor Donald Dinnie and passenger Christopher Stuchbury died after the train derailed in bad weather.
Initial inquiries say the train hit a landslip.
The incident left the train’s four carriages and two power cars a badly burned and twisted wreckage, and the tracks, and a nearby bridge parapet the train collided with, were also severely damaged in the disaster.
One of the sections of the train landed on top of another, another carriage came to a stop upside down, and two others were left down the side of a steep embankment to the side of the tracks following the crash.
Now that Network Rail has confirmed the last of the trains carriages have been taken away from the site, work will now get under way to assess just how badly the track and bridge were impacted by the tragedy.
Network Rail aims to publish the details and timescales of the work required later this week, but until that work is complete, it is not possible to confirm when the line will once again be reopened.
The typically quiet rural location where the derailment took place has been busy with emergency services and representatives from other bodies involved in efforts to find out what happened and prevent a similar tragedy taking place.
Two parallel investigations are currently ongoing, one from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, and a separate inquiry being conducted by the police, the British Transport Police and the Office of Road and Rail.
