Three railway companies fined £600,000 after workers injured in electrical accident

12 May 2008
ORR/14/08

Three railway companies were each fined £200,000 and together ordered to pay £42,000 costs at Coventry Crown Court.

The prosecution by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) followed a serious accident at Marston Green near Birmingham in July 2003. During overnight work to upgrade the West Coast Main Line, a worker received an electric shock from an overhead line.

The work was carried out by a joint venture between GT Railway Maintenance Ltd and Balfour Beatty Rail Projects Ltd, with Elec-Track Installations Ltd (now known as Hythe Realisations Ltd) as a sub-contractor.

The overhead line remained live as the three companies had not ensured a safe system of work. They had received warnings about their isolation procedures from their own safety staff beforehand, but had not made improvements.

On 1 July 2003, an employee of Elec-Track Installations suffered burns after receiving an electric shock from a line that carries 25,000 volts.  He had his right leg removed below the knee and received 30% burns over his body. Two other workers were injured as they jumped clear from the elevated platform upon which they had been working. The men thought the line had been isolated and made safe.

Commenting on the case, Allan Spence, Deputy Chief Inspector of Railways said: “With such a high risk activity, there should have been a robust permit to work system confirming it was safe to start work. Instead, the system these companies used was a short cut. That short cut tragically led to confusion and, in turn, to the awful burn injuries to this worker.

“ORR’s Railway Inspectorate takes such failings very seriously: we will continue to press companies working in the railway industry to properly manage risks.”

The Judge when passing sentence said that these were systemic failings and that the three companies’ activity fell very significantly below the expected standard. Each company was fined £200,000, reflecting the serious nature of the offences.

Notes to editors

1. Elec-Track Installations pleaded guilty to a single charge under section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA). Balfour Beatty Rail Projects and GT Railway Maintenance pleaded guilty to a single charge under section 3(1) of HSWA.
2. Section 2(1) of HSWA requires an employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of its employees.
3. Section 3(1) requires an employer to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that the way in which they conduct their undertaking does not affect the health andsafety of other people.

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