Evening drama at Newtonmore as man topples onto railway line
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An Aviemore man came within inches of disaster at the weekend after falling on to the Highland Main Line tracks as a non-stop train passed through Newtonmore Station.
Only a death-defying rescue leap from his brother-in-law pulled him clear.
"It was an incredibly near thing," Brian Reid told the Strathy today as the details of the drama became clear.
It was Mr Reid's son David (53) who flung himself onto the line after seeing Chris Houghton (71) topple off the platform.
"Chris has a bad knee and is waiting for an op," said Mr Reid, "so he's walking on a crutch attached to his elbow.
"And as the train approached he lost his footing on the platform.
"Davie just threw himself down after him. We're incredibly proud of him. He managed to get Chris out of the way but it was so close that the train actually did strike Chris on the leg as he was pulled away."
Mr Houghton sustained leg injuries and reportedly suffered a broken ankle, but was soon airlifted to Glasgow for hospital treatment.
British Transport Police told the Strathy: "Officers were called to Newtonmore at 8.25pm on June 3 following reports of a casualty on the tracks.
"Paramedics also attended and a man was taken to hospital, thankfully his injuries are neither life-threatening or life-changing.
"The incident is not being treated as suspicious."
The driver of the northbound train effected an emergency stop after passing through the station, halting between Newtonmore and Kingussie, where it was due to stop at 8.10.
One of the passengers, Richard Else of Newtonmore, said: "All we experienced was the full emergency stop and on train announcements that someone had been struck by the train - which wasn’t stopping in Newtonmore and so going quite fast.
"Scotrail on-board staff did a great job but were obviously quite shaken. We're all very pleased it wasn’t so much worse.
"The train was stationary for two and a half hours until a relief crew arrived. We stayed on the train to Kingussie, and then it continued onwards."
Separate arrangements were made for people who had journeys beyond Inverness.
