Great Western Railway fined over woman's death in 2018
The rail operator has been ordered to pay £1 million
Great Western Railway has been fined £1 million in connection with a woman's death.
Bethan Roper from Penarth suffered a fatal head injury after leaning out of a train's droplight window in Bath in December 2018.
The Office of Rail and Road says the operator and others have since made changes, but at the time GWR hadn't done the necessary risk assessments needed.
An ORR spokesperson said:
"In 2016, a passenger died in a similar incident near Balham, south London. Following that accident, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) issued safety recommendations in May 2017.
"Although GWR was already aware of a number of previous incidents, the company did not produce a written risk assessment for droplight windows until September 2017. That assessment identified the hazard as one of the most significant passenger safety risks.
"However, ORR later found the assessment to be neither suitable nor sufficient and wrote to GWR to highlight its shortcomings. The assessment was not revised in light of ORR’s concerns, and the actions GWR had identified to reduce the risk were not implemented before the fatal accident in 2018.
"Following Ms Roper’s death, further safety recommendations were issued across the rail industry, to prevent passengers from leaning out of droplight windows.
"As a result of these measures, all rolling stock operated by train companies that had droplight windows has since either been withdrawn from service or fitted with engineering controls to prevent windows being opened while trains are moving."
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.”
Great Western Railway said it accepted the judge's decision and it remains committed to continuously improving passenger and colleague safety across its network.