Tyne and Wear Metro operator Nexus has been fined £1.5m following the death of an employee at its South Gosforth depot in 2014.
The company pleaded guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for failing to ensure the safety of staff.
John Bell died while working at height carrying out maintenance work on high voltage overhead cables. He was electrocuted after contacting a wire he believed to be isolated from the power supply, but, due to the incorrect installation of equipment, it was in fact live.
The case was brought by regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). Its investigation found that safety-critical procedures were ignored and some continued for a substantial period after Mr Bell’s death.
This included failures to allow work to be carried out without the appropriate instructions for staff to prevent injury; work being undertaken without the required safety-critical permits; and serious inadequacies in policy documents covering ‘live line working’, which failed to include a requirement for staff to test all electrical wires before carrying out work.
The ORR found that lessons were not learned over a number of years and problems persisted despite the death of Mr Bell, ‘putting people at risk for a substantial period thereafter’.
Ian Prosser CBE, HM Chief Inspector of Railways at the ORR, said: ‘Nexus’ working practices were poor and continued so for a long time. This meant Nexus did not have the right measures in place to assess whether the Metro was being maintained safely.
‘It is a fundamental safety requirement to test electrical equipment before any work takes place, but the failure to review and monitor safety-critical systems meant that lessons were not learned.’
The ORR said Nexus had agreed the failures involved were a significant cause of Mr Bell’s death.
Register now for full access
Register just once to get unrestricted, real-time coverage of the issues and challenges facing UK transport and highways engineers.
Full website content includes the latest news, exclusive commentary from leading industry figures and detailed topical analysis of the highways, transportation, environment and place-shaping sectors.
Use the link below to register your details for full, free access.
Already a registered? Login
