NETWORK RAIL RECEIVES HEALTH AND SAFETY FINE

Following an investigation by the Office of Rail and Road, Network Rail has been fined £4 million following the death of actress, Olive McFarland.  Tragically, Olive McFarland was standing by a train moving at 100 miles per hour which should in fact have been restricted to 55 miles per hour.

The Company was fined at Ipswich Crown Court in September, having admitted being in breach of its duty of care on the day of Ms McFarland’s death.

Network Rail has 28 days to pay the fine and was also ordered to pay costs of £35,857.

It was found that Network Rail had failed to act on “substantial evidence” that pedestrians had poor visibility of trains when approaching a foot crossing at Needham Market.

Ian Prosser, the Chief Inspector of Railways, said “In 2011, Network Rail’s safety management fell below the standard required, putting members of the public using Gipsy Lane footpath crossing in un-necessary danger.”

The fine would have in fact been £6 million for Network Rail had the Company not pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

This fine follows on from previous large fines for companies of a medium and large size.  This follows the new Health & Safety sentencing guidelines which were brought into effect in February 2016.  Courts now assess an offender’s culpability, the risk of serious harm, and fines are then taken from a range which depends on the size of the organisation’s turnover.

It is likely that Network Rail’s fine continues the trend of eye-watering fines for health and safety breaches, and it remains to be seen how long this fine stands as the record health and safety fine.

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