Port Talbot: Network Rail fined £4m after workers killed by train
Network Rail has been fined nearly £4m after two workers were struck and killed by a train following safety failures.Gareth Delbridge, 64, and Michael "Spike" Lewis, 58, were hit by a Great Western Railway train travelling from Swansea to London Paddington in July 2019.The two men had been working for Network Rail at Margam, near Port Talbot, at the time and a third track worker also came close to being hit, with a previous report describing him as "severely traumatised".Network Rail said it continued to "transform the safety of our workforce" following "the tragic deaths".
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 its 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".Nick Millington, route director at Network Rail Wales and Borders, said the "tragic" deaths of Mr Delbridge and Mr Lewis "should never have happened on our railway"."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," he said."Today's judgement 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, chief executive of the independent organisation Rail Safety and Standards Board, said the incident was a "catalyst to completely rethink track worker safety".
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wales Online
a day ago
- Wales Online
Police find £90,000 drugs haul after spotting suspicious behaviour outside flat
Police find £90,000 drugs haul after spotting suspicious behaviour outside flat A total of 29kg of cannabis and 197 grip seal bags of cocaine were discovered when police searched a flat Ahmet Cenaj (left) Ergys Nika (centre) and Jetmir Nika (right). (Image: South Wales Police ) Drug dealers were found in possession of more than £70,000 worth of cannabis and £10,000 worth of cocaine when their flat was searched. Another dealer was found to have discussed the purchase and sale of up to 7kg of cannabis. Ahmet Cenaj, 24, was stopped by police in Newport on October 14 last year while driving a Mercedes. The boot of the car was searched by officers and a black bin bag was found to contain a total of 950g of cannabis. A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday heard a total of £445 was also discovered, as well as two mobile phones. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter. The defendant refused to provide the PIN codes to the phones and claimed he did not know there were drugs in the bag, having been given the package by another person. Ahmet Cenaj, 24, discussed purchasing and selling up to 7kg of cannabis in kilo quantities. (Image: South Wales Police ) His phones were later accessed and found to contain multiple messages in which the defendant discussed purchasing and selling up to 7kg of cannabis in kilo quantities. Article continues below The devices also included videos of Cenaj in possession of cannabis, as well as weighing and packaging the drug. Ergys Nika, 22, was found in possession of 29kg of cannabis, 197 grip seal bags of cocaine, weighing 58.5g and £37,500 in cash. (Image: South Wales Police ) When police went to attend Cenaj's home in Mill Street on January 25, they saw Ergys Nika, 22, entering the property empty handed and leaving in possession of a large bag. Officers approached him and took hold of the bag, which was found to contain a large amount of cannabis. Jetmir Nika, 19, was found in possession of 29kg of cannabis, 197 grip seal bags of cocaine, weighing 58.5g and £37,500 in cash. (Image: South Wales Police ) Ergys Nika was taken back to the flat where Jetmir Nika, 19, was present and found in possession of a disposable vape which contained seven grip seal bags containing cocaine. Three mobile phones were seized and were found to contain messages relating to drug supply. A search of the flat resulted in the discovery of 29kg of cannabis, 197 grip seal bags of cocaine, weighing 58.5g, and £37,500 in cash. Prosecutor Byron Broadstock said the cannabis was worth £79,160 and the cocaine was worth £10,740. Cenaj, of Mill Street, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply class B drugs and being concerned in the supply of class B drugs. Ergys Nika and Jetmir Nika, both of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis, and possession of criminal property. All three defendants were said to be Albanian nationals and were of previous good character. In mitigation for Cenaj, defence barrister Benjamin Waidhofer said the defendant has spent 137 days on curfew while on remand, and was in a "different position" to his co-defendants. Hashim Salmman, for Ergys Nika, said his client wished to return to Albania to see his family upon his release from prison. Heath Edwards, for Jetmir Nika, said his client wanted to turn away from a criminal lifestyle and has "potential and opportunity" in the future. Article continues below Cenaj was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment. Both Ergys Nika and Jetmir Nika were sentenced to 45 months imprisonment each.
ITV News
2 days ago
- ITV News
Two men jailed for theft of £4.75m gold toilet from Blenheim Palace
Two men have been jailed for the theft of a £4.75 million gold toilet from Blenheim Palace. The fully-functioning 18-carat gold toilet, which had been installed as an artwork at the Oxfordshire country house where Sir Winston Churchill was born, was stolen in a raid in the early hours of September 14 2019. Michael Jones, 39, from Oxford, has been jailed for 27 months. James Sheen, 40, from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, has received a four-year prison sentence. Sheen is also serving a 19-year sentence for a string of thefts, including £400,000 worth of tractors and high-value trophies from the National Horse Racing Museum in Newmarket. The pair were part of the gang who planned and carried out the burglary of the Oxfordshire stately home. The fully functioning toilet was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and was a star attraction in an exhibition at Blenheim Palace, the house where Sir Winston Churchill was born. The heist took place hours after a glamorous launch party, and the distinctive toilet was split up or melted down and sold on soon after it was stolen and has never been recovered. The toilet was stolen during a five-minute period by sledgehammer-wielding thieves who smashed their way in, Oxford Crown Court heard. They drove through locked wooden gates into the grounds of the palace in two stolen vehicles before breaking in through a window. Entitled America, the toilet weighed approximately 98 kilogrammes, was insured for six million US dollars (£4.75 million) and was made from gold, which was itself worth about £2.8 million. Passing sentence, Judge Ian Pringle KC said: 'This bold and brazen heist took no more than five-and-a-half minutes to complete. "America has never been seen again."
South Wales Argus
2 days ago
- South Wales Argus
Newport teen repeatedly stabbed behind college in 5-1 attack
The 18-year-old victim suffered a punctured lung after being knifed multiple times near the Coleg Gwent campus on Nash Road in the Lliswerry area of Newport. The man was stabbed by a 17-year-old as they grappled on the ground with two other 17-year-olds assaulting him after he was chased at a football field. He suffered injuries to his skull after being hit to the back of his head with an asp (a baton, often used by police) he was carrying which was grabbed from him. Matthew Cobbe, prosecuting, told Newport Crown Court: 'The victim was stabbed, he was struck to the head, he was punched and he was kicked.' A fourth assailant involved in the violence on the afternoon on Thursday, November 7 last year has not been identified while the fifth person did not join in the attack. The teenager who beat the victim with the asp filmed the aftermath of assault during which the victim is asked for take off his Canada Goose jacket so that it could be taken. Mr Cobbe played this footage which was posted on social media. The victim is called a 'd*******' and refuses to give them his coat before walking off. He was taken to Newport's Royal Gwent Hospital for treatment before being transferred to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. As well as the punctured lung, the stab wounds he suffered included cuts to his shoulder, back, buttocks, knee and foot. He has 'managed to make a recovery', the court was told. The motive for the assault wasn't clear, Mr Cobbe admitted, but there was 'bad feeling between two groups of young men'. The victim had been expecting a one-on-one fight with one of his attackers before the others joined in. The 17-year-old from Newport who stabbed him pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of a bladed article in public. The two other 17-year-olds, who are also from Newport, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm. That pair will be sentenced at Cwmbran youth court later this month on Monday, June 24. Ieuan Bennett, representing the knifeman, said: 'He knows it's going to be a period of custody today. 'The defendant is 17 and was 16 at the time – he has no previous convictions. 'Insults had been traded on social media – some of it was bravado, some of it was not. 'He's never been in trouble before and he comes from a respectable family.' Judge Daniel Williams told the defendant: 'It was a vile assault. 'You bought a knife online knowing there was going to be trouble in the next few days.' He was sentenced to three years detention and told the time he had spent remanded in custody would count towards that term. The judge sent his best wishes to the victim through his parents who attended court.
