Network Rail fined £3.75m after deaths of two track workers

Network Rail has been fined £3.75 million after two workers were struck and killed by a train, following long-term failure to improve safety.

Gareth Delbridge, 64, and Michael ‘Spike’ Lewis, 58, were hit by a Great Western Railway train travelling from Swansea to Paddington, west London, in July 2019.

The two men had been working for Network Rail (NR) at Margam, near Port Talbot, when the incident occurred.

A third track worker came close to being hit, with a previous report into the incident describing him as having been “severely traumatised”.

At Swansea Crown Court on Friday, Recorder Christian Jowett fined Network Rail £3.75m, saying the company had failed to put in place proper measures to protect the workers.

The judge said issues surrounding safety policy had been known for some time and the firm had failed to make improvements.

Network Rail previously admitted their role in the men’s deaths.

The court heard that in the absence of technological solutions, the only protection workers had was a lookout, which Mr Jowett described as the “lowest level of protection”.

“Visibility towards Port Talbot at the site was restricted due to a curve in the track, so the need for two lookouts was identified, with four men carrying out the work,” he said.

“But what happened was the group split into two, one to carry out the maintenance work and the other to carry out (other) work – no one was available to be the second distant lookout.

“The task was noisy because of the type of machine being used.”

The judge said none of the workers were aware of the approaching train “until it was too late”.

Issues surrounding Network Rail’s track safety policy had been known since 2017 but the judge said by 2019 the steps taken had “not resolved the concerns”.

Mr Jowett said the policy – called Standard 19 – for how track work should be carried out was “substantially based on a number of unsuccessful initiatives since 2014”, following previous deaths in 2011 and 2012.

“I find that Network Rail therefore must have had a good understanding of why these initiatives failed,” he said.

“However, I also find that it didn’t learn from these experiences because the design and rollout of Standard 19 repeated a number of mistakes and introduced further mistakes.”

Contrary to its own policy, Network Rail did not consider it necessary for the rollout of Standard 19 to be delivered by qualified trainers, with the amount of training reduced from eight hours to two and a half with a video, “which may have added further confusion”.

The judge also said track workers had narrowly avoided being struck by trains in July 2018 and April 2019, and in December 2018 the regulator indicated that it was “minded to serve improvement notices”.

Passing his judgment, Mr Jowett awarded Network rail a one-third reduction in light of them pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity.

“I therefore sentence Network Rail to a fine of £3.75m,” he said.

“Finally, I express my condolences to the families, I know that no sentence that I can pass, no fine I can impose, can compensate you for the loss that you have suffered.”

The fine is to be paid within 42 days.

A spokesperson for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), the industry regulator, said their investigation had found systematic and wide-ranging safety failures by Network Rail in its measures to protect those working on or near the line from trains.

Since the accident at Margam, there has been a “step change” in the way the industry manages track worker safety, but further deaths in Roade in 2020 and Surbiton in 2021, as well as reports of near misses “means Network Rail must remain committed in its focus on track worker safety”.

Richard Hines, HM Chief Inspector of Railways, said: “Our thoughts continue to be with the family, friends and colleagues of Michael Lewis and Gareth Delbridge. I am deeply sorry for their loss.

“The Court has imposed a fine of £3.75 million which reflects the nature and gravity of Network Rail’s failings.

“The rail industry needs to do all it practically can to help each worker get home safely every day.

“Much progress has been made in reducing risk to track workers, with new protections introduced.

“The industry is committed to seeing these technologies implemented further and faster.

“This will require a relentless, collective, industry focus to continue to drive down risk to ensure that tragic incidents such as this are never repeated.”

In a statement, Nick Millington, route director at Network Rail Wales & Borders, said the “tragic” deaths of Mr Delbridge and Mr Lewis “should never have happened on our railway”.

He said: “Over the last five years I have met regularly with Gareth and Spike’s families and our thoughts remain with them, and all those friends and colleagues who have been impacted by their deaths.

“Since this tragedy, we have continued to transform the safety of our workforce through the development of new technology and planning tools, which have almost entirely eliminated the need to work on the railway when trains are running.

“Today’s judgment reinforces why safety must always be our first consideration, and we will continue to do all we can to make our railways the safest they can be.”

Mark Phillips, CEO of the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), an independent safety and research body, said: “This tragic accident was a catalyst to completely rethink track worker safety.

“Our research and analysis helped Network Rail make significant safety improvements, with our statistics showing the number of track worker near misses with trains reducing from 60 per year in 2018/19 to 22 in 2023/4.”

He said the RSSB was developing new solutions to protect track workers, including a predictive tool to reduce the risk of runaway machinery and changing standards to stop the highest-risk activities.