Following an investigation by the Office of Rail and Road, Great Western Railway has been fined £1m and ordered to pay more than £78,000 in costs.
The fine comes after a fatal incident near Twerton in 2018 when 28-year-old Bethan Roper suffered a fatal head injury after leaning out of a droplight window of a moving train and striking a tree branch.
A similar incident happened in 2016 in South London, and the ORR says that Great Western Railway were aware of the previous incidents but did not produce a risk assessment until September 2017
The ORR says that it later found that the assessment was neither suitable nor sufficient and wrote to the operator to highlight the shortcomings, and the actions identified to reduce the risk were not implemented until after the accident in 2018.
As a result of recommendations following Ms Roper’s death, all trains that had droplight windows have since been withdrawn from service or have had controls to prevent windows from being opened.
Richard Hines, ORR’s Chief Inspector of Railways, said:
“Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Bethan Roper. Her death was a preventable tragedy that highlights the need for train operators to proactively manage risks and act swiftly when safety recommendations are made to keep their passengers safe.
“Our investigation found that GWR fell short in its responsibilities, and this prosecution reflects the serious consequences of that failure. We welcome the actions taken since by GWR and the wider industry to reduce the risks. Safety must always remain the first priority across Britain’s railways.”
Responses
Nanny State strikes again. Way OTT response from ORR. People need to take responsibility for their own actions.
Just my thoughts on this incident, does it not state above the window that it is dangerous to lean out of the window while the train was moving , whilst I have sympathy with the family of Bethan Roper, the fine and action against GWR is extreme. At this rate each passenger will have to have a rail safety person with them to make sure you do not do anything dangerous.
I feel that this is rather ‘over the top’. Surely, people have to take some responsibility for themselves. Whilst this is a sad incident, I do not feel that the Train Company is necessarily responsible. We have had droplight windows for over a hundred years and it is common-sense that sticking one’s head out of the window may have the potential for a mishap. There is a warning above the window advising against this. As a schoolboy rail enthusiast I travelled to and from London from 9 years old and not only realised the mishap potential of putting my head out of the window, I also did not lean on the door either. You cannot legislate for everything and blame everyone else for something when oneself also has a certain share of responsibility for oneself.
I agree. It is all too common now for people to take no responsibility for their own safety and, when something goes wrong, seek to blame it on someone or something else. If you lean out of a train window when it’s at speed it should be clearly obvious that you risk your head being hit by something lineside.
This huge fine won’t of course be paid by any of GWR’s employees, it’ll instead be recouped via fare increases which all passengers will have to pay.