Health & Safety Report 2012 - enforcement activity

Most of our effectiveness in health and safety regulation comes through evidence-based advice and encouragement to dutyholders to improve and adapt their risk management. But occasionally we have to use more formal powers to bring about change or deal with immediate risk. Most often, we use enforcement notices – whether to prohibit an activity involving serious risk or to rectify serious gaps in risk control. Our enforcement policy statement sets out how we will use these powers and we use an enforcement management model to ensure consistency and rigour in those enforcement decisions.

Improvement notices 

SMS = Safety Management System
TOC = Train operating company; FOC = Freight operating company

Prohibition notices

 

Prosecutions

In certain circumstances explained in our enforcement policy statement, where we find non-compliance with the law, we prosecute those who have failed to do what the law requires. The Courts decide on guilt and any penalty.

Company	Issue	Outcome
Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd	Potters bar derailment.	£3,000,000 fine Costs £150,000
Merseyrail Electrics Ltd	Runaway train in freight depot, narrowly missed passenger service.	£85,000 fine. Costs £20,970
Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd	Lorry hit bridge causing rubble to fall on tracks below, leading to a derailment.	£80,000 fine Costs £32,000
Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd	Failure to assess the safety risk, when building a structure next to a level crossing, causing sighting issues.	£20,000 fine Costs £4,750
Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd	A train struck two grinding trolleys placed on the line by track workers for maintenance purposes.	£20,000 fine Costs £9,000
Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd	Double fatality at Elsenham level crossing	£1,000,000 fine Costs £60,015

Last updated: July 2012

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