Charges brought over Hatfield crash
Senior managers at the two companies involved in the Hatfield crash are set to face criminal charges over their alleged role in the incident.
Five employees of the now defunct Railtrack and maintenance firm Balfour Beatty have been charged with gross negligence, manslaughter and a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Both Balfour Beatty and Railtrack’s successor Network Rail have also been charged with gross negligence.
Those being prosecuted are three Railtrack executives, two Balfour Beatty managers. A further Railtrack employee who is expected to be charged later today.
The high-speed derailment in October 2000 – which left four dead – led to widespread disruption on the rail network as a subsequent programme of track checks got underway.
The accident was caused by a broken rail.
Network Rail has acknowledged the charges and stated that the company and its employees ‘fully intend to defend themselves’ against them.
It added that its employees ‘conduct their duties to the best of their abilities with the sole intention of delivering a safe, reliable and efficient railway network’.
Balfour Beatty said it could see no justification for manslaughter charges to be brought against its maintenance business or employees.
‘The charge of manslaughter against our maintenance business will be firmly defended as we see no plausible basis for it in law or on the evidence,’ the company explained.
ASLEF, the train drivers and train operators union, said that the prosecutions emphasise the ‘drastic need’ for all maintenance to be bought back in house by Network Rail.
