Network Rail found guilty over Hatfield crash

Network Rail has been found guilty of breaching safety legislation prior to the Hatfield rail disaster at the Old Bailey.

However, three executives from the firm – known as Railtrack at the time of the crash – and two executives from Balfour Beatty, the firm that maintained the line, were cleared of all charges.

Four people were killed and 102 injured when a King’s Cross to Leeds train was derailed at 115mph on October 17, 2000.

It was alleged that the accident occurred because of a “cavalier” approach to safety. The prosecution said that a cracked section of the track at the site of the crash had been identified for repair 21 months prior to the crash, but had not been fixed.

It was also alleged that a backlog of essential work had been allowed to accumulate.

Network Rail had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The five executives – Alistair Cook, 52, Sean Fugill, 52 and Keith Lea, 55 from Railtrack and Anthony Walker, 48 and Nicolas Jeffries, 50 from Balfour Beatty – were cleared of all charges.

The defence had told the court that the men had worked in “under-funded industry”, which had been “neglected” by governments for over 40 years and had undergone a “botched and unworkable privatisation”.

The men, who had denied all the charges against, had also been cleared of unlawfully killing the four people who died earlier in the trial.

Engineering firm Balfour Beatty had earlier admitted breaching safety standards before the disaster, but it did not accept all the charges against firm. The company was cleared of a corporate manslaughter charge before Tuesday’s verdicts.

Sentencing is due to take place in October.

(KMcA/SP)