Network Rail has been fined £15,000 and ordered to pay costs of £47,500 following a prosecution for a health and safety offence brought by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR).
At Lincoln Magistrates’ Court, Network Rail pleaded guilty to not preventing unauthorised access to the railway by failing to adequately maintain a trackside boundary fence in Whisby Nature Park, Lincolnshire.
The prosecution follows an ORR safety investigation which showed that Network Rail had failed to take steps to maintain the fence. This was despite ORR’s inspector finding clear signs of trespass, Network Rail’s own inspections between 2006-2009 identifying its poor condition and ORR bringing the problem to Network Rail’s attention after the regulator received a complaint from a member of the public.
Deputy chief inspector at ORR Allan Spence said:
“ORR welcomes this conviction and today’s sentence – Network Rail missed several opportunities to repair an ineffective fence which created a risk to public safety. The regulator will not tolerate public safety being put at risk by lax procedures.
“This was a sustained failure to properly act on the risk of people, and particularly children, straying onto the railway.
“We will always press for sensible safety precautions, and take enforcement action – including prosecution – when necessary. Since our investigation started, I’m pleased to say Network Rail has replaced the fence through the park. But they could and should have made improvements earlier.”
