Runaway train costs rail firm

摘要

A train operator must pay more than £100,000 in fines and costs for safety failings relating to a train derailment in Merseyside. Liverpool Crown Court heard that the incident took place at Kirkdale depot on 30 June 2009. The previous day, Merseyside Electrics 2002 Ltd had removed the train from service after it developed a power fault. To diagnose the problem the train was isolated from the live rail using a technique called 'paddling up', where a wooden panel is placed between the conductor rail and the pickup shoes on the side of the train. Once the repairs were completed the paddle was removed without taking the train out of gear, which caused the locomotive to regain its traction power from the live rail. It began moving down the track and reached an estimated speed of 30mph before it passed over a device on the track that applied the vehicle's brakes and diverted it to a track adjacent to the main railway line.