Officials will continue their investigation into the fatal train derailment in Aberdeenshire, which killed three people and injured six others.
On Wednesday, the 6.38am Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street service crashed near Stonehaven, an area that had been hit by heavy rain and flooding.
Emergency service workers were called to the scene around 9.40am, with dozens of emergency service vehicles - including an air ambulance - attending.
Image:Officials will continue their investigation into the cause of the crash
Aerial shots showed one carriage completely overturned, with rail industry sources telling the PA news agency that the suspected cause of the crash was a landslip.
ScotRail confirmed the three who died were the driver, the conductor and a passenger.
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Scottish Transport Secretary Michael Matheson revealed those who were injured continue to be treated in hospital, but none of their injuries were life-threatening.
An investigation is being directed by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), who will work with a team of inspectors from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch and Office of Road and Rail.
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UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Mr Matheson were both due to visit the site on Thursday and meet members of the emergency services.
Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines was also due to visit the crash site on Thursday after cutting short a family holiday in Italy.
Last month, Network Rail was warned about not keeping up with extreme weather events after an annual report noted a spike in landslips on Britain's railways, demonstrating the "vulnerability" of the network.
Ahead of his visit, Mr Shapps posted on Twitter: "That fatal derailments are so rare only deepens the sense of shock and sadness about those who lost their lives and were injured yesterday morning.
"Headed to Stonehaven to thank emergency services, ensure every measure is taken and that each lesson is learnt from this tragedy."
Smoke billows from derailed train
Mr Matheson told Sky News the immediate emergency response to the crash had now moved into an investigatory stage in order to "quickly" learn lessons from the incident.
"There are established protocols, very strict protocols, within the rail industry for trains operating within adverse weather," he said.
"My understanding from Network Rail is those protocols were applied yesterday to this particular service."
But, noting how some parts of Scotland experienced a month's rainfall between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, Mr Matheson added: "There is no doubt that climate change and these types of intense weather events are having an impact on the transport network, which was not designed to deal with these types of incidents".
He said "mitigation measures" were needed to minimise the risks of extreme weather.
Thunderstorms had caused flooding across Aberdeenshire on Wednesday, prompting the cancellation of some rail services and the shutting of a number of schools.
Prior to the news of the crash, Network Rail Scotland posted a video on Twitter of a landslip and flooding on rail tracks at Carmont.
Smoke rising from the scene of the Stonehaven derailment suggested it occurred near to a bend in the tracks close to Carmont, although it is unclear whether the landslip highlighted by Network Rail Scotland's Twitter account was directly related to the incident.
PM on 'shocking' train derailment
Commenting on the suspected reasons of the crash, Nigel Harris, the editor of Rail magazine, told Sky News: "Somewhere south of Stonehaven the driver encountered an obstruction, a landslide, on the track and had to reverse his train and go back along the way he'd come.
"And then go onto his own line and head back north towards Aberdeen, at which point he ran into another landslide which had clearly happened after he had passed by in a southerly direction.
"That then caused this terrible incident."
Local journalist Lewis Michie told Sky News the train line running through the area where the crash occurred had "very, very steep" embankments.
He added that Wednesday had brought the "worst flooding I have seen in the northeast for a long, long time."
The Queen, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon have led tributes to those killed in the crash.
Anyone worried about friends or family involved in the derailment is being urged to call the NHS Grampian helpline number on 01224 319519 for advice and support.
The late intervention by the Welsh Government on Wednesday followed an outcry in Scotland after thousands of results were initially downgraded, sparking changes in other parts of the UK.
Top grade A-level results in Wales
% of A and A* grades awarded
Qualifications Wales said last week that teacher estimates had been "generous", resulting in thousands of grades being adjusted down.
This affected more than four in 10 of all grades - more than 12,500.
But after the minister intervened, students whose results today are worse than their earlier AS grades in that subject will now see their A-levels readjusted "as soon as possible."
The results show:
A record proportion of A and A* grades - 29.9%, up 2.9 percentage points from 2019
But this is less than the 40.4% estimated after the initial teacher assessments
42.2% of final A-level grades are lower than the original assessed grades; 53.7% are the same and 4.1% are higher
The proportion achieving A* is 10.8% - adjusted downwards from the original estimate of 15.4%
More pupils on free school meals saw their A-levels downgraded - 48.1%, compared to 45.3% for pupils not eligible
98.6% achieved passes A*-E, up 1% on 2019
The gap between boys and girls is slightly wider than last year - with A* to C grades for 76.5% of boys and 82.3% of girls
22.2% achieved an A* or A for AS-levels, up 1.9 percentage points from last year.
Education Minister Kirsty Williams said she had to make sure that those changes did not disadvantage Welsh students, and so she was giving a guarantee that a final A-level grade cannot be lower than a pupil's AS grade.
"This will mean - and I have received assurances from Ucas and universities - that students can speak with confidence to their prospective universities regarding their A-level grades," Ms Williams added.
What has been the problem?
The qualifications watchdog found that the estimated grades by teachers had been too generous in Wales.
The watchdog said that was "generous". So aiming to keep the integrity of the qualifications - for the sake of employers and universities - and to be fair to students, Qualifications Wales revised the results.
How many grades were adjusted?
Proportion of final A-level grades relating to original assessments
The majority of students (53.7%) get the same as the original assessment grade while the remainder (42.2%) get a lower grade. A small proportion get a higher grade.
The watchdog says it has also been monitoring to ensure the exams are fair in terms of disadvantaged groups and gender gaps.
But these are extraordinary times, with schools closed and pupils unable to sit the exams they had worked for.
Once ministers in England and Scotland had stepped in to overrule the usual exam moderation practices it was inevitable that Wales would have to follow suit.
Students who get their grades today are being told if their results are lower than their earlier AS level grades, they will be issued with revised ones by the WJEC as soon as possible.
Education expert Gareth Evans, from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, said some students would still wonder if they might have performed better than expected.
"While it will doubtless be of some comfort to those who performed well at the halfway stage of their A-levels, it will be of scant consolation to those pinning their hopes on boosting scores at the end of the course," he said.
"Issues with the artificial moderation of grades allocated by teachers remains. The right of pupils to challenge their grades as appropriate is absolutely essential."
Ioan Rhys Jones, of Welsh teaching union Ucac, said: "It's concerning that everything's at the last minute, which has meant a great deal of extra work for teachers and a great deal of extra worry for the students.
"That is a major concern and we hope that it is not repeated next week [with GCSE results]."
Qualifications Wales chief executive Philip Blaker said this year's process had not disadvantaged particular groups of pupils.
"We have analysed attainment gaps this year relative to previous years - looking at aspects such as gender, age and eligibility for free school meals", he said.
"Our analysis shows no statistically significant differences this year relative to other years."
A-levels grades in the UK
Proportion of grades in each nation
The results show Wales has proportionately more pupils with top grades and grades A* to C than in England, but fewer than in Northern Ireland.
There had also been a 3.3% rise in the proportion of A* to C grades in Wales, higher than elsewhere.
How is Wales different to Scotland and England with this issue?
In Wales, AS exams taken earlier were cited as reliable evidence towards estimating A-level performance.
A key difference between Wales and England is that English pupils will be able to resit in the autumn if they are unhappy with their grades.
There are no exams for Welsh pupils in October, although the usual GCSE Maths, Welsh and English exams are due to go ahead in November.
What has been the response?
At Merthyr College, Caitlyn Foley got an A* and three As.
"It's been a bit weird having to deal with all the changes so last minute," she said. "We thought the teacher's predicted grades were final but then we found out that there was a bit more than that," she said.
"Obviously the announcement last night that we wouldn't get less than what we got in AS, that was a bit reassuring."
Fellow student Tom Bush, who got an A and two Bs, added: "I've actually got lower now than I had at AS in Psychology which is odd but hopefully I'll go up."
Zac Evans, a pupil at Ysgol Glan Clwyd, St Asaph, said he got Cs in art, design and technology, and an E in PE.
"I'm going to look into an appeal with the hope of getting a higher grade in DT because I was hoping for a B but it will all be OK in the long run.
"I've just had advice from the headmaster and they'll be releasing how the application process works on Monday because they say it's changing and I'll be looking into it."
Can I appeal?
Qualifications Wales has been asked to quickly make any relevant adjustments to the appeals process and liaise with other exam regulators.
Its advice to pupils getting results is:
If your A-level grade is the same or higher than your AS level, then no action is required.
If the grade is lower it will be replaced with the same grade as that received for the AS level - and revised grades will be issued by WJEC as soon as possible.
If needed, students can contact their prospective university to advise them of the change.
As things stand, appeals have to be made through a school or college, rather than direct to the WJEC exam board - and there are limited grounds. These are restricted to the process - such as the exam board using the wrong data to calculate a final grade.
It will not allow schools and colleges to rethink their estimated grades or ranking of pupils. If other mistakes are highlighted through an appeal, the other pupils affected will not see their grades lowered, the exam board has said.
Jackie Parker, head of Crickhowell School in Powys said: "We will all be working to look through every individual child's performance data to look at what results they've achieved and to ensure if appeals are necessary they are going forward positively.
"I think the WJEC and others have tried to be as fair as they can but I personally think there's more work to do here.
"For me, the moral purpose of leadership is to ensure that our young people are not disadvantaged in any way."
Lisa Thomas, principal of Merthyr College, said it had been a very unsettling time and results would now be closely scrutinised.
"If we feel that there are learners that have been disadvantaged in any way then we would be looking to use the appeals process," she said.
How schools' past performance is accounted for
There has been concern about how the "standardisation" process looks at schools and colleges' previous results.
In Wales, this does not apply to the process for A-levels, the Welsh Bacc and some GCSEs where you already have a lot of hard data from previous assessment - such as AS levels - to work from.
But average results from 2017-19 are taken into account when standardising most GCSEs. Schools could appeal to the WJEC if they think there were significant circumstances or events in those previous years which might bring the average down.
However, currently there is no scope for pupils to appeal against the grade they were given by their school or college - the Centre Assessment Grade (CAG).
If pupils have concerns about bias or discrimination in allocating those grades, they can appeal to the WJEC and a process similar to a malpractice complaint would be followed, but those are expected to be rare.
In other years there can be requests for exam scripts to be reviewed, but this is obviously not an option when no exams have been taken.
The minister has announced, however, that the appeal process will be free for all students.
Almost 40% of A-level results have been downgraded in England after exams were cancelled due to coronavirus.
Some 35.6% of marks were adjusted down by one grade, 3.3% were brought down by two, and 0.2% came down by three.
Overall, an estimated 280,000 entries have been affected by the process.
Image:Exams were cancelled due to the pandemic
This is because the Joint Council for Qualifications "standardised" schools' predictions using their past performances to try and maintain consistency in a year thrown into chaos by the pandemic.
Teachers were told to submit the grades they thought each student would have received if they had sat the papers, alongside a rank order of students, after exams were cancelled due to COVID-19.
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Image:Top A* and A grades have risen by 2.4% since last year
Exams watchdog Ofqual says standards across the country have been maintained, with top A* and A grades rising by 2.4% to an all time high.
The number of students accepted on to degree courses has also risen by 2.9% compared with last year.
Ofqual claimed there was no evidence of bias against pupils based on their socio-economic status and that moderating was needed given "generous" initial assessments in some schools.
But there are three routes of appeal.
Students can use their mock exam results to argue they should have got higher grades, a school can say it is under new leadership meaning it should not be judged on old performance and some pupils can press ahead and do the actual exams in September.
Image:Teachers' predicted grades were revised to try and maintain consistency
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said he wanted to "make sure young people have the best possible options in front of them" despite the coronavirus outbreak.
But he told Sky News: "I can't sit here and say that there won't be a single child in this country who won't be in a situation of where they have got a grade that isn't a fair reflection of their work."
Education sec cannot guarantee 'fair' grades
There were several reports of disappointment, one person tweeting: "My sister got her A-level results today! Her mock results were A,A,A - her centre assessed results were A*,A,A* which she 100% deserves. Yet because of clever Boris' algorithm she's ended up with B,B,C ... HOW do you come to that result when NONE of her work has ever been graded that?"
Geoff Barton, head of the Association of School and College Leaders, said he had heard "heartbreaking feedback" from teachers about "grades being pulled down in a way that they feel to be utterly unfair and unfathomable".
Image:The number of students accepted on to degree courses has risen by 2.9%
Labour's shadow education secretary Kate Green also branded the government's approach to exams as "chaotic".
"Today is always an anxious day for pupils and parents across the country," she said. "That anxiety is far worse this year because of the fiasco caused by the Conservative government."
And the children's commissioner for England Anne Longfield also said "inequalities already existing in the education system will be deepened".
She warned "more affluent schools with more resources are more likely to appeal" so the process should be "as easy as possible" to ensure "disadvantaged schools and students are not left out".
In Wales, where students take AS-Levels which count towards their final A-Level, pupils have been promised they will not get a lower final result than their grade last summer.
Image:Anne Longfield raised concerns about the appeals procedure
Analysis: The system was never going to be perfect By Laura Bundock, news correspondent
This is no ordinary results day.
An exceptional situation, involving difficult and delicate decisions ever since exams were cancelled back on 18 March.
We now know 35% of results have been downgraded by one grade. Some results by more than one grade.
Ofqual insists its analysis of grading shows no negative bias on socioeconomic background, gender or ethnicity.
A general system assessing thousands of individual pupils was never going to be perfect.
But already unions say they've received "heart-breaking" feedback of schools feeling unfairly and unfathomable downgraded.
And for students caught in the middle, they must hope universities and colleges follow through on their promise to be flexible with admissions.
Are you a student getting your results today? Get in touch with Sky News
Four firefighters were injured while responding to the Stonehaven derailment tragedy yesterday.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the news stating two firefighters were taken to hospital while a further two remained at the scene.
Assistant chief officer Paul Stewart spoke with the BBC and told how thankfully all injuries were minor.
The crash scene pictured from above shows the wrecked train (Image: Daily Record)
He said: “It was clearly a very difficult and hazardous scene yesterday and it remains so and we take the safety of our crews very seriously indeed.
"We did have the unfortunate event of four firefighters receiving minor injuries at the scene yesterday, two of which attended hospital for a precautionary check up and two of which remained at the scene, so a very hazardous and difficult scene but something that the fire and rescue service is well able to manage and deal with."
Three people including the train driver and train conductor tragically lost their lives in the disaster in Aberdeenshire yesterday morning.
A further six people were injured in the accident.
An investigation is now underway with officials pledging to find out exactly what went wrong.
The 6.38am Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street service crashed near Stonehaven yesterday morning amid heavy rain and flooding.
Among the dead were the train's driver, named locally as Brett McCullough, as well as the conductor, named as Donald Dinnie, and a passenger.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon led the tributes to those who were killed along with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and The Queen.
Tributes have been paid by relatives and friends of tragic train conductor Donald Dinnie (Image: UGC)
Dozens of emergency service vehicles - including an air ambulance and British Transport Police (BTP) officers - were called to the scene at about 9.40am.
Addressing gathered media later on Wednesday, BTP chief inspector Brian McAleese said an investigation would be directed by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).
Devoted dad Brett McCullough was killed when the train crashed (Image: UGC)
He added they "will also be working closely with them along with the Rail Accident Investigation Branch and Office of Road and Rail to establish the full circumstances of how this train came to derail".
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and the Scottish Government's Michael Matheson will both visit the area today and meet members of the emergency services.
Ahead of the visit, Mr Shapps said: "I express my deepest condolences to the friends and families of those affected in the tragic incident near Stonehaven.
"My department is in close contact with all relevant parties, including our counterparts in the Scottish Government, to provide any support that is required.
"I want to pay tribute to the emergency services and rail workers, who have responded so quickly in these distressing circumstances.
"The safety of passengers and staff is and has always been our upmost priority and we will ensure that lessons are learned from this tragic incident once the Rail Accident Investigation Branch has carried out its investigation."
In another message of condolence, sent to the Lord Lieutenant of Kincardineshire, the Queen said: "It was with great sadness that I heard of the train derailment earlier today in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire.
"The Duke of Edinburgh, and the entire royal family, join me in sending our thoughts and prayers to the families of those who have died and those who have been injured.
"Our thanks go out to the emergency services for their response and dedication."
Speaking to Sky News, Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said: "One of the reasons that this accident is so shocking is of course that this type of accident on our railways is thankfully so rare.
"But our thoughts are very much with those who've lost their lives, their families and of course those who've been injured in the derailment.
"I've talked to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon about what has happened and clearly the most important thing now is that the British Transport Police, who are in charge of the investigation, find out exactly what happened, and that we all work together with Network Rail, with everybody else who's responsible to make sure that nothing like this happens again."
Writing on Twitter, Ms Sturgeon said: "My deepest condolences are with the loved ones of those who lost their lives in this tragic incident.
"I have just been updated by Network Rail and the emergency services on the ongoing operation.
Top news stories today
"My thanks go to them, and my thoughts remain with everyone affected."
She also tweeted the NHS Grampian helpline number, adding: "Anyone worried about friends or family involved in the Stonehaven rail incident can call 01224 319519 for advice and support."
About 25,000 pupils across Northern Ireland will receive their A-level and AS results on Thursday morning.
But the NI exams board CCEA has admitted there will be "anomalies" in some of the grades awarded.
In an email to principals on Wednesday, CCEA said it recognised there would be concern about some results.
It said it would "start contacting schools where we have seen anomalies in terms of judgements provided and the grade issued".
Pupils who have taken subjects through CCEA will get results online from 08:00 BST.
The overall picture of results for Northern Ireland will be available at 09:30 on Thursday.
As exams were cancelled, grades will be awarded based on predicted grades from schools, which have been standardised by CCEA.
A similar system is also in place in England and Wales, and about 12% of pupils in Northern Ireland take subjects through exam boards from those countries.
While results in Northern Ireland are expected to rise, there will be intense scrutiny on how many grades predicted by schools have been changed by CCEA's statistical modelling.
Schools have expressed concerns that a significant number of results they had predicted will be lowered.
In Scotland, results predicted by teachers alone will now be used to give pupils their grades.
"A key element of the process is to ensure that qualifications standards are maintained this year," it said.
"There has been no change in this direction or our approach."
Education Minister Peter Weir also said the system in Northern Ireland would be fair, and has criticised Scotland's decision to award grades on teacher predictions alone.
He said that would lead to enormous increases in grades and undermine the credibility of their qualifications.
But in an email to principals on Wednesday evening, CCEA said it would "work through the anomalies as quickly as possible so that you can reassure students tomorrow that any queries regarding their results will be resolved as quickly as possible".
The commissioner for children and young people for Northern Ireland, Koulla Yiasouma, told Good Morning Ulster that she had met with CCEA.
She said she had sought "high-level assurances" that young people will feel that "they have been treated fairly" when they receive their results and that there will be an "accessible and open appeals process".
"I am pleased that that has been made a little bit more straightforward as well," she added.
While pupils getting grades from CCEA can get them online, many of those getting results from English and Welsh boards will have to go to their school to pick them up.
Pupils in Northern Ireland have outperformed their counterparts in England and Wales in recent years.
Just over 30% of entries were awarded A* or A grades in 2019.
CCEA will operate a dedicated exams helpline for pupils on 028 9026 1260 from 13-26 August.
A-level and vocational results are arriving for hundreds of thousands of students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
But unlike other years, these results have been estimated after exams were cancelled by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The exam watchdog has already announced a 2% rise in A* and A grades this year at A-level - close to record levels.
Controversy has surrounded how results have been decided - with head teachers angry at the use of mock exam grades.
There was "deep frustration" in schools about the confusion caused by late changes to the results system, warned Geoff Barton, leader of the ASCL head teachers' union.
Almost 300,000 teenagers will be finding out A-level results - some by email and others going into school, perhaps for the first time since they left in the lockdown in March.
The moderation process will mean about 40% of results will be different, mostly lower, than predicted grades submitted by teachers.
There will be scrutiny of whether it is disadvantaged pupils who will have lost out from such changes - a problem that caused protests and a U-turn in Scotland.
Students taking vocational exams have been getting estimated results over recent weeks - with 250,000 getting BTec results this year.
For students hoping for university places, it is expected to be a "buyer's market", with the admissions service Ucas saying universities would be "super-flexible" even for those who have missed grades.
The A-level results are expected to show:
About 8% will get A*
27% will get A* or A
78% will get A* to C
Psychology now the second most popular subject, after maths
Girls will outperform boys, except in A*s
Northern Ireland will get more top grades than England and Wales
About 40% of grades will be different from teachers' predictions
There will be 25,000 university courses available in clearing, including 4,500 in top Russell Group universities
There have been arguments about how estimated grades have been calculated in the absence of exams - with the two biggest factors being the ranking order of pupils and previous results at their school.
In England, head teachers angrily complained of a "shambles" at the last-minute switch to a "triple lock" in which students could get whatever was highest out of three assessments:
their estimated grade
an optional written paper in the autumn
or an appeal through their school if the estimated result is lower than the mock exam,
Heads warned mock exams were run in many different ways by schools and it was wrong to try to use them to decide exam results.
He warned that if teachers' grades were used in England, "we would have seen them shoot up" which would "devalue" results for the class of 2020 and be unfair on those in previous and future years.
He added: "But worse than that, it would mean that students in this year would lose out twice over, both in their education and their future prospects."
Mr Williamson said the government had earmarked £30m to help schools with the costs of running exams this autumn for students who choose this option.
Congratulating students on "getting through this extraordinary year", he said the class of 2020 would not "lose out because of Covid-19" and that their futures would be "as full of promise as those in every other year".
The exam boards have said the results will not show widening gaps or "unconscious bias", such as towards ethnic minority students.
But the linking of students' grades to the results of their schools in previous years will mean close attention to whether this works against disadvantaged children.
This emerged when exam results were published in Scotland - forcing a switch to using teachers' predictions.
And in England there will be concerns that bright pupils in under-performing schools could be marked down.
England's exam watchdog has said that if teachers' predictions had been used it would have inflated results - so that about 38% of entries would have been A* or A grades.
But using a system that relies on ranking pupils by ability could create a "lottery" in grades for those in the middle ranges, says Professor Alan Smithers of the University of Buckingham, in an annual pre-results analysis.
He says that while those pupils at the top and bottom ends of the ability range will be clear, it is harder to "distinguish those in the middle", with the risk of ranking decisions being "inaccurate and unfair".
Mr Williamson has defended the robustness of the replacement grades - and told those getting their results that "they should feel proud of everything they have achieved in the most extraordinary and difficult circumstances".
Have you got your results today? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist.
A yellow storm warning - meaning there is a small chance of flooding and travel disruption - was issued for the rest of Wales and most of England for Wednesday night, and extends to more of the East and South East and most of Northern Ireland on Thursday.
The yellow warning applies for Wales and the majority of England until Monday night next week.
The Met Office also warned of potential damage to buildings from lightning strikes or strong winds, and 30 to 40mm of rain falling in less than an hour in some places.
Forecaster Greg Dewhurst said the high temperatures triggering the thunderstorms could cause flooding.
"If rain is falling on places that have been quite hot and dry, and the ground is quite hard, the rain doesn't have anywhere to go, and from that we can see flash flooding," he added.
Thunderstorms are expected to clear overnight, while temperatures could remain above 20C, he said.
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"It's still going to be warm and humid and that could then trigger some thunderstorms across parts of England and Wales through the afternoon and evening [on Thursday]," he added.
"Generally, the rest of the week remains unsettled with showers, some of them thundery and heavy, but there will still be some warm, sunny spells at times too."
"It's not often we get temperatures this high over several days, and that is triggering thunderstorms across parts of England and Wales."
The force said it saw an increase in anti-social behaviour and public order offences on Saturday and Sunday.
Assistant Chief Constable Jim Colwell said the weekend's events, spurred on by the hot weather, had forced officers to attend a "plethora of different incidents".
Steve Andrews, head of central operations for South East Water, said more than 150 million litres of extra water were being pumped into the network as the UK heatwave continues.
