Neil Garnham QC represented Southeastern Trains before Maidstone Crown Court on 6 July 2012.
The case concerns a train which overran a station in East Sussex. The train’s sand hoppers had emptied at an unprecedented rate because of the unusual weather conditions in Autumn 2010. As a result, sand (which is needed to assist in braking in poor weather) was not supplied to the train when called for and the train travelled 2.45 miles beyond the station when the brakes failed to operate effectively.
The company was fined £65,000 plus costs, for breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
