Network Rail has been handed a £10,000 fine after a train charged over a storm-damaged viaduct that crosses the River Clyde at 100mph. 

The rail operator allowed several trains to cross Lamington Viaduct in South Lanarkshire before realising it had been damaged due to a storm.

The Lamington Viaduct - which carries a line for trains travelling between Carlisle and Glasgow Central across the River Clyde in South Lanarkshire - was eventually closed off for seven weeks in 2015 for major repairs. 

A probe by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), Scotland's Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal revealed that the train operator had breached health and safety law after a train passed over the bridge at speeds of up to 100mph. 

Glasgow Times:

Network Rail pleaded guilty at Lanark Sheriff Court to the offence under health and safety law

HM Chief Inspector of Railways Ian Prosser CBE said: "We welcome this outcome by the Crown Office. Our investigation revealed that Network Rail staff were unaware that they held safety critical duties under Network Rail’s processes to manage infrastructure during extreme weather.

"The viaduct was on Network Rail’s list of high risk structures vulnerable to being washed away by moving water, yet despite this being a known issue, severe damage went unrecognised because Network Rail failed to implement its own procedures which would have meant no passenger trains should have passed over the viaduct.

"This verdict should be a reminder to Network Rail, as it progresses plans led by its two new task forces, that it must continue to acknowledge and act to guard against the serious impact of severe weather on infrastructure."