The Grayrigg train derailment, which left one person dead and 86 injured, has landed Network Rail with the UK’s biggest ever rail-safety fine.
The rail operator appeared at Preston Crown Court yesterday (4 April) and pleaded guilty to breaching s3(1) of the HSWA 1974. It was fined £4 million and ordered to pay £118,052 in costs. The ORR has confirmed the fine to be the biggest ever imposed on a company for rail-safety failings since its records began.
On 23 February 2007, the high-speed train from London Euston to Glasgow Central derailed on the West Coast Mainline near Grayrigg in Cumbria, after hitting a set of badly maintained points. The only fatality was Margaret Masson, 84, who was travelling in the first carriage, but 28 other passengers were seriously injured.
The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) investigated the crash and found Network Rail had failed to provide and implement suitable and sufficient standards, procedures, guidance, training, tools and resources for the inspection and maintenance of fixed stretcher-bar points.
Passing sentence, Mrs Justice Swift said: “This was a very serious offence and could have easily led to greater loss of life than actually occurred. I am acutely conscious that no fine, however large, can put a value on the life lost as a result of the Grayrigg derailment, or the pain and suffering of those who were injured on that day.”
The judge confirmed that the penalty would have been £6m, but credit was given for the guilty plea. She said: “The fine is imposed in order to mark the seriousness of the offence and to emphasise the fact that those who bear responsibility for ensuring the safety of the public must exercise proper care.”
ORR director of railway safety Ian Prosser said: “The train derailment was a devastating and preventable incident, which has had long-term consequences for all involved.
“Under [the company’s chief executive] Sir David Higgins’ leadership, Network Rail is focused on driving safety measures and I welcome the company’s progress on implementing safety recommendations made after this incident. But the pace of carrying out improvements has, at times, been too slow and the rail regulator has had to repeatedly push the company to bring about change.”
Following the hearing, Sir David Higgins said: “Within hours of the incident it was clear that the infrastructure was at fault and we accepted responsibility, so it is right that we have been fined. Nothing we can say or do will lessen the pain felt by Mrs Masson’s family but we will make the railways safer and strive to prevent such an accident ever happening again.
“We have learnt from the accident, determined to recognise what we got wrong and put it right. An event like this affects everyone in the company, and especially those with responsibility for the track. Since the accident, much has changed in the way we plan and carry out maintenance work, with new systems put in place to improve the quality and safety of our railway, which is why we now have one of the safest passenger railways in Europe.”
Mrs Masson’s family said they found it “offensive” that, as taxpayers, they would be contributing to the fine. Solicitor Soyab Patel, speaking on behalf of the family, told the BBC: “The fine of £4m, together with costs, will ultimately be borne by the taxpayer. Mrs Langley [Mrs Masson’s daughter] is a taxpayer. Her mother died in the crash. She and her husband suffered serious injuries. She finds it offensive she is contributing to the fine.”
Mick Whelan, general secretary of the train drivers’ union ASLEF, described the fine as “meaningless”, as no individual had been held accountable. “Even though Network Rail pleaded guilty and admitted health and safety breaches, the senior managers still walk away without sanction or a stain on their name,” said Whelan.
“Company bosses ignore health and safety laws and simply hide behind a faceless company when things go wrong. Seven hundred points-related incidents were identified around the UK following the Grayrigg crash, so health and safety is clearly still not being taken seriously. They [senior managers] should be held personally responsible for the breaches that lead to passenger injury and death.”
Just three weeks ago, Network Rail was fined £1 million in relation to the deaths of two teenage girls at a level crossing in Essex in 2005. And in May last year, it was fined £3 million over its role in the fatal train derailment at Potters Bar in 2002.
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So what do you suggest Tony? Are you saying don’t fine Network Rail for this horrific blunder as it might put up your rail fare????
OK, so how does a company survive fines exceeding £8m? Where does this money come from and where does it go to or what is it used for? Jarvis Rail couldn’t survive the fines imposed on it, am I being cynical in thinking this will only result in greater costs to all rail companies and inevitably higher travel fares?
Will network rail really learn the lessons from these fines and invest in manpower etc to prevent future events such as these?