Nexus, the operator of Tyne Wear Metro, has been fined £1.5m after one of its employees died working at height carrying out maintenance work on high-voltage overhead cables.
Nexus pleaded guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for failing to ensure the safety of staff after John Bell was electrocuted at the company’s South Gosforth depot in July 2014 when he contacted a wire he believed had been isolated from the power supply. Due to the incorrect installation of equipment, the wire was actually live.
In its investigation, industry regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) found safety-critical procedures were ignored and some continued for a substantial period after Bell’s death.
This included failures to allow work to be carried out without the appropriate instructions for staff to prevent injury; work being undertaken without the required safety critical permits; and serious inadequacies in policy documents covering ‘live line working’, which failed to include a requirement for staff to test all electrical wires before carrying out work.
ORR said lessons were not learned over a number of years and problems persisted despite the death of Bell, putting people at risk for a substantial period thereafter.
Sentence was passed by judge Spragg at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Crown Court, following ORR’s prosecution.
Ian Prosser, HM chief inspector of railways at ORR, said: “Nexus’ working practices were poor and continued so for a long time. This meant Nexus did not have the right measures in place to assess whether the Metro was being maintained safely.
“It is a fundamental safety requirement to test electrical equipment before any work takes place, but the failure to review and monitor safety critical systems meant that lessons were not learned.
“This sadly contributed to the events which caused the death of Mr Bell. Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Mr Bell and I hope this result brings them some peace.”
Nexus agreed the failures involved were a significant cause of Bell’s death.
In his remarks, judge Spragg said the case was an avoidable tragedy of a much-loved man and that Nexus should have prevented such a state of affairs from arising and continuing.
It was the second time Nexus was fined in relation to an accident involving Bell. He had previously been injured in an incident when working on overhead line equipment on 3 February 2002. Nexus was subsequently prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive for breach of its general duty under section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was fined £16,000. Bell suffered serious head and chest injuries and was off work for more than a year.
