Ex-Abellio worker wins tribunal over train crash

Compensation due to Nick Smith will be agreed at a later date

A former railway worker has won a claim that he was wrongly dismissed for gross negligence over a train crash.

Nick Smith was sacked by Abellio East Anglia after an out of service Greater Anglia train crashed into buffers at Norwich Crown Point depot in June 2022.

An employment tribunal heard faulty radio communications were a factor in the crash, which caused damaged to the value of £25,000.

A judge upheld Mr Smith's complaint and said he was not "culpable".

When Mr Smith was dismissed in August 2022 he had been employed for 30 years, with 21 of those as a yard controller at the depot which services trains.

Abellio East Anglia had told him that he was "negligent" in his duties, which directly resulted in a "buffer stop collision" that damaged the train and buffers.

But the tribunal heard that radios used by workers to communicate had been affected by static interference at the time of the crash, which happened at a speed of 5mph (8km/h).

Mr Smith told the tribunal he had only had 19 seconds to react to the situation but in its evidence, the company said it had been between 30 and 35 seconds and that the low speed meant there should have been time to avoid the collision.

Judge Louise Brown ruled Mr Smith had not been grossly negligent.

She said: "I did not find that the claimant's actions were anywhere near the 'grave and weighty' threshold or that he intentionally acted in a way to breach the respondents' safety policies.

"It would be startling if he had chosen to do so, especially given the risk to his own safety and that of others on the train."

A further hearing will be held at a later date to determine compensation due to Mr Smith.

In a statement, Greater Anglia said: "We do not comment on matters that are the subject of ongoing legal proceedings."