Network Rail has been fined £3.75m and ordered to pay costs of £175,000 after the deaths of two track workers in 2019.
The rail infrastructure operator pleaded guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, which followed an investigation and prosecution by industry regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
The incident involved Michael Lewis, Gareth Delbridge and a third track worker, employees of Network Rail, who were working on the track at Margam, Wales, on 3 July 2019.
A passenger train travelling from Swansea to Paddington struck Lewis and Delbridge, who suffered fatal injuries. The train narrowly missed the other worker.
The trio were carrying out track maintenance work without site or distant lookout protection to warn them of approaching trains, or a line block which would have prevented trains from travelling on the section of the track they were working on.
Systemic safety failures
ORR’s investigation of the incident found systematic and wide-ranging safety failures by Network Rail in its measures to protect those working on or near the line from trains, resulting from inadequacies in its processes and management systems.
These were similar to the findings of ORR inspections in 2018 and 2019, and from other previous incidents, which led the safety regulator to take formal enforcement action to require Network Rail to improve track worker safety.
The ORR said that since the accident at Margam, there has been a step-change in the way the rail industry manages track worker safety, with Network Rail almost entirely ending red-zone working, when lines remain live during track work, and employing new technologies to reduce the risk of harm.
However, further incidents that resulted in track worker fatalities near Roade in 2020 and Surbiton in 2021, and reports of near misses, mean Network Rail must remain committed in its focus on track worker safety, it added.
Richard Hines. HM chief inspector of railways, said: “Our thoughts continue to be with the family, friends and colleagues of Michael Lewis and Gareth Delbridge. I am deeply sorry for their loss. The court has imposed a fine of £3.75m which reflects the nature and gravity of Network Rail’s failings.
“The rail industry needs to do all it practically can to help each worker get home safely every day. Much progress has been made in reducing risk to track workers, with new protections introduced.
“The industry is committed to seeing these technologies implemented further and faster. This will require a relentless, collective, industry focus to continue to drive down risk to ensure that tragic incidents such as this are never repeated.”
