Railway firms admit safety breach after Waverley worker killed

TWO railway maintenance companies have admitted being in breach of health and safety at work regulations after a worker was crushed to death as he moved a piece of machinery from Waverley Station.

Neil Martin, 46, had been helping move a railway-adapted cherry-picker machine out of the station when he was killed on Calton Road in March 2006.

His employer Border Rail and Plant Ltd and the machine manufacturer LH Access Technology Ltd both admitted offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today and are due to be sentenced tomorrow.

Mr Martin, a fitter operator, had been taking part in an overnight operation to remove the rail-mounted access platform from the railway station in order to have it repaired by manufacturer LH Access Technology.

The court was told Mr Martin had been trying to control the steering of the vehicle as it was moved along Calton Road around 4am when the rear wheel ran over his leg and up onto his back.

Ambulance crews found Mr Martin lying face down on the ground and he was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary but did not regain consciousness and was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

A post mortem examination found he had died of multiple injuries and compression trauma.

LH Access Technology, a subsidiary of the UK's largest manufacturer of rail-adapted equipment, LH Group Services Ltd, admitted failing to make sufficient assessment of the risks to safety of persons not employed by them when using the machinery.

Border Rail, a leading railway maintenance company and contractor to Network Rail, admitted failing to ensure the health and safety and welfare at work of an employee by failing to provide a safe system of work, resulting in the death of Mr Martin.

Neither company had faced prosecution before, the court was told.
Barry Smith, counsel for LHAT, said it was clear that Mr Martin himself had not been at fault and claimed the platform had been moved in "the only reasonably practicable way" given the circumstances.

He expressed condolence to Mr Martin's family, adding: "It must clearly be accepted that the consequences in this case were tragic."

Counsel for Border Rail, Roddy Thomson, said Border Rail could not have foreseen that the machinery would be moved in the manner it was, as it was normal rail industry practice to carry out repairs on the spot.

"The machine could have stayed there indefinitely, there was not compulsion on anyone to move it from where it was," said Mr Thomson.

Fiscal depute Angie Main said Mr Martin's family had requested that any fine issued to the companies should go towards increasing safety in the rail industry.

Speaking outside court, Mr Martin's sister, Alison Roberts, said the family did not blame the company for her brother's death.

She said: "Nobody could have seen this accident happening and it is unlikely that those circumstances will ever happen again.

"The family bears no malice to the companies involved and just hope that it never happens to anyone else."