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| Paddington crash prompts £4m fine | Paddington crash prompts £4m fine |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Network Rail has been fined £4m for the breaches in health and safety that led to the 1999 Paddington rail disaster. | Network Rail has been fined £4m for the breaches in health and safety that led to the 1999 Paddington rail disaster. |
| Network Rail, which had admitted health and safety blunders occurred before the crash on 5 October, 1999, was also ordered to pay £225,000 in costs. | Network Rail, which had admitted health and safety blunders occurred before the crash on 5 October, 1999, was also ordered to pay £225,000 in costs. |
| Thirty-one people died when a First Great Western train hit a Thames Trains service at Ladbroke Grove, west London. | Thirty-one people died when a First Great Western train hit a Thames Trains service at Ladbroke Grove, west London. |
| Network Rail replaced Railtrack, which had been responsible for maintaining Britain's railways, in 2002. | Network Rail replaced Railtrack, which had been responsible for maintaining Britain's railways, in 2002. |
| Safety concerns | Safety concerns |
| The Thames train had gone through a red light at signal SN109 shortly after leaving Paddington station. | The Thames train had gone through a red light at signal SN109 shortly after leaving Paddington station. |
| Blackfriars Crown Court has previously heard that a "catalogue of failures to act" by Railtrack led to the disaster, which left more than 400 injured. | Blackfriars Crown Court has previously heard that a "catalogue of failures to act" by Railtrack led to the disaster, which left more than 400 injured. |
| Prosecutor Philip Mott QC told the court that concerns had been raised about the safety of signal SN109 as early as November 1995. | Prosecutor Philip Mott QC told the court that concerns had been raised about the safety of signal SN109 as early as November 1995. |
| There were seven previous occasions where a driver went through the signal at red - known as Signal Passed at Danger (Spad) incidents - in the five years leading up to the crash. | There were seven previous occasions where a driver went through the signal at red - known as Signal Passed at Danger (Spad) incidents - in the five years leading up to the crash. |
| The court heard that Michael Hodder, driver of the Thames train, probably assumed he could continue because of the "absence of a visible red at SN109". | The court heard that Michael Hodder, driver of the Thames train, probably assumed he could continue because of the "absence of a visible red at SN109". |
| Chairman of the Paddington Survivors Group, Jonathan Duckworth, who was injured in the crash, said the fine should serve as a message to other companies. | Chairman of the Paddington Survivors Group, Jonathan Duckworth, who was injured in the crash, said the fine should serve as a message to other companies. |
| Company blame | Company blame |
| "The clear message from this court sentence is that you cannot mess around with people's lives," he said. | "The clear message from this court sentence is that you cannot mess around with people's lives," he said. |
| "It sends a message to all other companies. It was very clear from the evidence that the corporate culture at Railtrack was very poor indeed when it came to safety. | "It sends a message to all other companies. It was very clear from the evidence that the corporate culture at Railtrack was very poor indeed when it came to safety. |
| "It was not just individuals who were at fault. It was the whole company." | "It was not just individuals who were at fault. It was the whole company." |
| Maureen Kavanagh, chairman of the Safe Trains Action Group, lost her son Peter, 29, in the 1997 Southall rail crash. | Maureen Kavanagh, chairman of the Safe Trains Action Group, lost her son Peter, 29, in the 1997 Southall rail crash. |
| She said: "A fine is not enough and is not justice. People can kill 31 people and just pay a fine. | She said: "A fine is not enough and is not justice. People can kill 31 people and just pay a fine. |
| "No financial penalty can be adequate. It's taxpayers' money anyway. The money will just be shuffled around from one government department to another." | "No financial penalty can be adequate. It's taxpayers' money anyway. The money will just be shuffled around from one government department to another." |
| The evidence led to the inescapable conclusion that Network Rail failed utterly in its responsibility to protect the health and safety of passengers in its care Chris Newell, Crown Prosecution Service | |
| Keith Norman, general secretary of the drivers' union Aslef said the money should be taken from the bonuses of senior Network Rail managers. | |
| "If the managers are not fined personally, it means the fines will be paid by the public," he said. | |
| "This would be a terrible injustice to passengers who would end up having to pay for being killed, maimed and injured." | |
| Rail Maritime and Transport union general secretary Bob Crow said: "Privatisation, fragmentation, the absence of train protection and the lack of corporate accountability were at the heart of the Ladbroke Grove tragedy, and each problem remained to be dealt with. | |
| "It is only right that the survivors and the families of those killed have heard the catalogue of failings that led to the disaster aired in court, but it was the wrong people in front of the judge." | |
| Chris Newell, the Crown Prosecution Service's principal legal adviser, said: "Today's sentence is the final act, in which Network Rail have been held accountable for the disastrous and inexcusable failures that led directly to the appalling tragedy of 5 October 1999." | |
| Mr Newell also said the British Transport Police had conducted "exhaustive inquiries" and produced "thousands of pages of evidence." | |
| He said: "The evidence led to the inescapable conclusion that Network Rail failed utterly in its responsibility to protect the health and safety of passengers in its care." |