Network Rail is to carry out detailed inspections of high-risk trackside slopes with similar characteristics to the site of the Aberdeenshire crash.

The rail infrastructure body said it will use in-house engineers, specialist contractors and helicopter surveys for the work.

All “higher risk” sites where railway lines have been built through ground excavation and are similar to the location of Wednesday’s fatal accident will receive these “supplementary specialist inspections”.

Dozens of sites across Britain will be assessed.

Network Rail said it is working with meteorologists to strengthen the information it receives about flash flooding caused by extreme weather, so it can improve the way it deals with train operations.

Engineers are reviewing the organisation’s programme for remote monitoring of high-risk sites to test whether this can go faster or further.

Network Rail added that its extreme weather action teams will “incorporate immediate learning into their plans as soon as it becomes available”.

A landslide following heavy rain is believed to have been a contributory cause of Wednesday’s crash near Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, in which three people were killed.