Rail company admit failings after boy suffered 25,000 volt electric shock at depot
A rail company has admitted breaching health and safety laws after a 13-year-old boy was electrocuted by a 25,000 volt cable.
The boy – who suffered life-changing injuries – climbed onto a train at DB Cargo, in Bescot Freight Yard, Wednesbury, before coming into contact with the overhead cable.
The incident on July 1, 2017, also saw another boy, 13, suffer a broken arm after he climbed onto a train.
A third child was unharmed. British Transport Police believe the boys had entered the depot through a fence.
The Government’s Office of Rail and Road, which regulates the safety of Britain’s railways, brought a prosecution against the German-based firm under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Mr Robert Allen, head of legal at DB Cargo, appeared on behalf of the firm at Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court where a guilty plea was entered.
Prosecutors said two of the boys climbed onto a train with one suffering severe injuries.
One of the boys either came into contact with the cable or the current, according to British Transport Police.
This transferred 25,000 volts through his body which resulted in 40 per cent burns.
Police said the other boy received minor burns from an electric shock, after trying to push him to safety.
Inspector Jacqui Wilson said at the time “one of the boys was lucky to be alive” while officers sent a message to parents about the dangers on railway lines.
DB Cargo will be sentenced at Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court on January 9. The full charge against DB Cargo is that, as an employer, the company failed to ensure that non-employees were not exposed to risks to their health and safety.
The company has been approached for comment.
DB Cargo operates freight trains across the country which transport goods such as cereal and coal.
