Evening drama at Newtonmore station as man topples onto railway line

An Aviemore man came within inches of tragedy at the weekend after falling on to the Highland Main Line tracks just as a non-stop train was about to race through Newtonmore railway station.

Only a death-defying rescue by his brother-in-law saved his life.

David Reid was able to pull Chris Houghton clear just in the nick of time.

"It was an incredibly near thing," his dad Brian Reid told the Strathy today as the details of the drama became clear.

David (53) flung himself onto the line without a thought for his own safety after seeing Chris Houghton (71) topple off the platform.

"Chris has a bad knee and is waiting for an op," said Mr Reid senior, "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.

He was airlifted to hospital in Glasgow for 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 8.10pm.

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.

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