Resolution for Family in Health and Safety Rail Case
Network Rail has been a prominent company in the media of late due to issues with their rail crossings. In the case of the two teenage girls dying in 2005, a solution has finally been reached. A 13- and a 14- year old were killed when they crossed at Elsenham station. The company had provided a guilty plea a few weeks ago in court. They told the court they were guilty of breaching three health and safety regulations. It took until March 19th for a sentence to be read regarding the case. Network Rail will pay £1 million for the breach in health and safety along with £60,000 in other costs.
Workstation risk assessments were conducted at the site to determine if there was a problem. There were also reports from back in 2002 stating that new gates that automatically lock needed to be put in, but three years later this still had not been done. It is possible that if the gates had been in place the girls would still be alive today. The incident happened because the girls saw the train go by, and thought the gates malfunctioned when they continued to stay down. They did not consider a second train would be coming along the same track and the gates could be lifted, thus allowing them to cross as the other train finally came across the tracks. The families are understandably upset, especially regarding who knew what and when they knew it.
