DLR operator Serco found guilty of failing to stop a train after a passenger fell onto the track

A jury at Southwark Crown Court today found Serco Limited (Serco), the operator of the Docklands Light Railway, guilty of a serious health and safety offence following a prosecution brought by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). The incident resulted in the death of a member of the public, Robert Carter, who fell onto the track and was struck by a train.

The ORR prosecution followed an incident on 2 April 2007 at All Saints DLR station. During an altercation between Mr Carter and another person, Mr Carter was pushed and fell onto the track. A short time later he was struck by a train and fatally injured.

ORR carried out a full investigation and found that Serco had an inadequate procedure in place for stopping trains in an emergency. The company allowed control room staff to decide whether to stop trains based partly on CCTV images. The CCTV system was not designed or intended for this purpose.

ORR director of railway safety Ian Prosser said: “I would like to extend my sympathies to Mr Carter’s family.

“ORR welcomes today’s guilty verdict. Due to safety improvements over the last decade, Great Britain now has a safer rail network and the risk of an accident is as low as it has ever been. Fortunately these incidents are rare but our investigation found it could have been avoided if a proper procedure had been implemented.

“There is absolutely no room for complacency in health and safety and ORR will not tolerate public safety being put at risk. We will continue to press for improvements and take enforcement action – including prosecution – when necessary.

“Following ORR’s enforcement action, Serco has made changes to its procedure to ensure that such an incident should never happen again.”

The case has been adjourned for sentencing until 12 May.

Ian Prosser will be speaking at the how safe is working on the railway conference, 20th May, Birmingham.