Siemens fined £1.4m over train maintenance worker crushed to death

Ian Parker was refurbishing a Heathrow Express train when he was killed

A "catalogue of basic errors" led to a train maintenance worker being crushed to death in west London in 2017, a rail safety leader has said.

Ian Parker, 58, died when a 1,433lb (650kg) motor fell on him at Siemens Train Care Facility in White City.

The chief inspector of railways urged Siemens, which operated the depot where Mr Parker was killed, to "avoid a repeat of this terrible event".

The company was fined £1.4m over the death at the Old Bailey on Tuesday.

Siemens pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to one charge of contravening a health and safety regulation, on 13 June 2017.

The court heard that father-of-two Mr Parker was a self-employed contractor working as part of a heavy overhaul team at the depot.

The team was tasked with removing several traction motors for routine refurbishment from electrically powered Heathrow Express trains.

Mr Parker was crushed when a motor fell after he prematurely removed items holding it in position.

'Terrible event'

In her sentencing remarks, Judge Anuja Dhir KC said Siemens "ought to have prevented" the accident.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR), which launched the prosecution, said after the hearing that its investigation revealed defects in "task planning", including a failure to carry out an appropriate risk assessment or allocate responsibility for supervision.

Chief inspector of railways Ian Prosser said: "Our thoughts remain with the friends and family of the deceased. A catalogue of basic errors resulted in this tragedy.

"ORR's thorough investigation highlighted that it is imperative any work undertaken for Britain's rail network requires a safety risk assessment appropriate to the task and involves staff who are fully trained to carry out that task under constant supervision.

"We hope Siemens have learnt from this and avoid a repeat of this terrible event."

Siemens said in a statement: "Our thoughts are first and foremost with the family and friends of Ian Parker, as has been the case since the tragedy in June 2017.

"Ian's death had a significant impact on our business and our people, who were shocked and saddened by the loss of a colleague and friend.

"Following the tragic incident, the leadership team made a commitment to drive forward a number of health and safety initiatives in order to reduce the likelihood of a similar event in the future."

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