I did a spot of lunchtime googling. Current thinking is that the blame lies in the pneumatic system which in a train controls the braking and suspension (and the doors). Some units use pneumatic throttles and gearboxes too.
The air in the system will be at atmoshperic humidity. If it then freezes, ice will form in the air lines and the various check valves in the system, which effectively siezes it up and all control of the unit is lost. Once a train is up and running, it will generally keep running, it's starting them up from cold seems to be the tricky bit. Of course, they are also diesel engined and it's nearly been cold enough to freeze diesel. Big diesels apparently not the most co-operative at starting in extreme cold. A bus operator in the Borders has cancelled all services because the diesel froze overnight
So perhaps it's Scotrail's fault for not leaving all their trains idling overnight!
Subsequent inability to co-ordinate an emergency timetable service and provide passengers with reasonable information can likely be blamed on administrative failure. Or maybe the management couldn't drive in to work?
Austrian railways largely electrocuted I think (along with the lindingobanana)
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