View source for Greenock rail crash

{{Short description|Railway accident caused by sabotage}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2017}}
{{Infobox public transit accident
| name                = Greenock rail crash
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| date                = 25 June 1994
| time                = 23:00
| location            = near [[Drumfrochar railway station]], [[Greenock]]
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| country             = Scotland
| line                = [[Inverclyde Line]]<br>([[Strathclyde Passenger Transport]])
| operator            = [[ScotRail (British Rail)|ScotRail]]
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| cause               = [[Vandalism]]
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| trains              = 1
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| passengers          = 4
| crew                = 2
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| deaths              = 2
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| footnotes           = [[List of rail accidents in the United Kingdom|List of UK rail accidents by year]]
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On 25 June 1994, the 22:45 from [[Wemyss Bay]] to [[Glasgow]], in [[Scotland]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Police treat train-crash deaths as murder |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/police-treat-train-crash-deaths-as-murder-1425345.html |access-date=9 July 2019 |work=The Independent |date=27 June 1994}}</ref> derailed and smashed into a bridge after hitting [[concrete]] blocks placed deliberately on the railway by [[vandalism|vandals]] outside of where [[Drumfrochar railway station]] would be opened 4 years later.{{sfn|Stephen|2019|p=82}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Accident at Greenock on 25th June 1994 :: The Railways Archive |url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/eventsummary.php?eventID=6477 |website=www.railwaysarchive.co.uk |access-date=9 July 2019}}</ref>

The train involved was a refurbished [[British Rail Class 303|Class 303]] [[Electric Multiple Unit]].{{sfn|Stephen|2019|p=82}}  The concrete blocks were cable-trough covers, which were placed across the rails of the single-track line by two vandals who had climbed down to the railway to urinate on their way home.{{sfn|Stephen|2019|pp=82–83}}  The railway at this point is on a curve, going to the right as the train was travelling.  

The leading [[bogie]] of the EMU derailed and the train immediately collided with the solid structure of the overbridge,<ref>{{cite news |title=Schoolgirl tells murder trial of train crash 'joke' |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12658468.schoolgirl-tells-murder-trial-of-train-crash-joke/ |access-date=9 July 2019 |work=Herald Scotland |date=17 December 1994}}</ref> crushing the driver's cab, killing driver Arthur McKee, 35, and also killing passenger Alan Nicol, 21, who was seated immediately behind the cab, with his back to the partition.{{sfn|Stephen|2019|p=83}}  Alan Nicol had taken this location to reduce the risk of injury from broken glass should the train be stoned by vandals, which was a common occurrence in that area. Including the two trainstaff, the train was carrying six people.<ref>{{cite news |title=Concrete left on railway line |url=https://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/news/13999129.concrete-left-on-railway-line/ |access-date=9 July 2019 |work=Greenock Telegraph |date=19 January 2011}}</ref>

Following the tragedy, many youths in the surrounding area were questioned by police regarding the incident.{{sfn|Stephen|2019|p=83}} After a trial by the High Court, Gary Dougan and Craig Houston, two 17-year-olds from [[Greenock]] were each [[imprisonment|imprisoned]] for 15 years for [[culpable homicide]].<ref>{{cite news |title=15 years for the railway killers' act of vandalism |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12538038.15-years-for-the-railway-killers-act-of-vandalism/ |access-date=9 July 2019 |work=Herald Scotland |date=23 December 1994}}</ref> Dougan and Houston launched an appeal against their convictions two years later. In September 1996, the Court of Appeal in Edinburgh upheld both convictions.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rail killers stay in jail. - Free Online Library |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Rail+killers+stay+in+jail.-a061171000 |access-date=9 July 2019 |work=www.thefreelibrary.com |date=27 September 1996}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
===Sources===
*{{cite magazine |last=Stephen|first=Paul|title=The vandalism that claimed two lives |magazine=Rail Magazine |date=19 June 2019 |issue=881|publisher=Bauer Media |location=Peterborough |issn=0953-4563}}

{{coord|55.94105|N|4.77365|W|type:event_region:GB|display=title}}
{{1994 railway accidents}}
{{Railway accidents in the United Kingdom, 1900–1999|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Derailments in Scotland]]
[[Category:Transport in Inverclyde]]
[[Category:Railway accidents in 1994]]
[[Category:1994 in Scotland]]
[[Category:Greenock]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving Strathclyde Partnership for Transport]]
[[Category:June 1994 in the United Kingdom]]

[[Category:Train wrecks caused by sabotage]]
[[Category:1994 crimes in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:July 1994 crimes]]

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