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Network Rail fined £3m over Potters Bar crash | Network Rail fined £3m over Potters Bar crash |
(40 minutes later) | |
Network Rail has been fined £3m for safety failings over the Potters Bar train crash. | |
The rail infrastructure company admitted breaching safety regulations over the May 2002 crash which claimed seven lives. | |
Faulty points were to blame for the crash in which a London to King's Lynn service operated by WAGN derailed near Potters Bar station in Hertfordshire. | |
Following the ruling, Network Rail said it was "truly sorry". | Following the ruling, Network Rail said it was "truly sorry". |
Six passengers and a pedestrian walking near the station were killed. | Six passengers and a pedestrian walking near the station were killed. |
'Sense of justice' | 'Sense of justice' |
Overall responsibility for the track lay with Network Rail's predecessor company, Railtrack. | Overall responsibility for the track lay with Network Rail's predecessor company, Railtrack. |
Last year, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) launched proceedings against maintenance firm Jarvis and Network Rail under the Health and Safety at Work Act. | Last year, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) launched proceedings against maintenance firm Jarvis and Network Rail under the Health and Safety at Work Act. |
Both companies were accused of failings over the installation, maintenance and inspection of adjustable stretcher bars which keep the moveable section of the points at the correct width for train wheels. | Both companies were accused of failings over the installation, maintenance and inspection of adjustable stretcher bars which keep the moveable section of the points at the correct width for train wheels. |
Director of rail safety at ORR, Ian Prosser, said: "Today marks the end of a long process in which we have sought to gain a sense of justice for the families of the victims of the Potters Bar derailment. | Director of rail safety at ORR, Ian Prosser, said: "Today marks the end of a long process in which we have sought to gain a sense of justice for the families of the victims of the Potters Bar derailment. |
"It is welcome that Network Rail, as the successor to Railtrack, pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches, demonstrating that, under its new management, it is now an organisation willing to take responsibility and learn from past mistakes." | "It is welcome that Network Rail, as the successor to Railtrack, pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches, demonstrating that, under its new management, it is now an organisation willing to take responsibility and learn from past mistakes." |
Network Rail spokesman PJ Taylor said: "We recognise with many that the sorrow remains and we should all pause and reflect as we remember those who lost their lives. | |
"Network Rail has today been sentenced for failings that contributed to this accident and we accept the fine as we accept the liabilities inherited from Railtrack. | |
"We say again today, that we are truly sorry." | |
Railtrack finally collapsed in October 2001 after the then Transport Secretary Stephen Byers opted to put the firm into administration rather than give it more taxpayers' money to fund urgently needed track upgrades. | |
The government said Railtrack was not capable of running the railways and was insolvent without government support. Network Rail was set up as a not-for-profit organisation to take over Railtrack's responsibilities. | |
Network Rail has no shareholders and its debt is guaranteed by the government. | |
This means that any fine imposed on the company effectively comes out of the public purse. | |
Speaking after the court case, Perdita Kark, the daughter of Austen Kark who was one of the victims, said: "It's offensive that I pay a fine for something that killed my father. | Speaking after the court case, Perdita Kark, the daughter of Austen Kark who was one of the victims, said: "It's offensive that I pay a fine for something that killed my father. |
"Directors of the two companies should have been in the dock as individuals and they should have paid out of their own purses." | "Directors of the two companies should have been in the dock as individuals and they should have paid out of their own purses." |
'Safety not profit' | |
Ms Kark - whose mother, author Nina Bawden, now 86, was badly injured in the crash - added: "This fine is going to be paid by the taxpayer and will mean there is less money to be spent on the rail network. | Ms Kark - whose mother, author Nina Bawden, now 86, was badly injured in the crash - added: "This fine is going to be paid by the taxpayer and will mean there is less money to be spent on the rail network. |
"The crash has made my mother's old age desperately difficult." | "The crash has made my mother's old age desperately difficult." |
| Patricia Smith, whose mother Agnes Quinlivan died in the crash, said they had waited nine years to hear an apology from Network Rail. |
"We knew any fine would come out of public funds, so we weren't really looking for a big fine. What we've always been hoping for is an acknowledgement that they got it wrong and they're putting it right," she said. | |
"Safety first rather than profit and bonuses first which is what they've done in the past." | |
All the passengers who were killed were in the train's fourth carriage which left the tracks after derailing and ended up wedged under the canopy of Potters Bar station. | |
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