Train tragedy parents blast safety delays

The parents of a man who was killed by a runaway train are angry that a warning system is still not in place ten years on.

The mother and father of a railway worker killed by a runaway wagon have blasted a “decade of delays” in the introduction of life-saving safety gear.

In two weeks, family and friends of the four men who died when a 16-tonne railway wagon broke free and ploughed into them on a Cumbrian railway line will mark 10 years since the tragedy.

Two subcontractors were found guilty of manslaughter through gross negligence after a court heard hydraulic brakes on the wagon had been “butchered” to save money.

The devastated families of the four men killed on the West Coast Main Line close to Tebay have campaigned tirelessly for Network Rail to bring in an early warning system to alert workers to runaways.

But Thomas and Christine Burgess, whose son Darren, 30, was the youngest to die, are angry the promised “secondary protection system” is still not in place.

Thomas, 65, from Carnforth, Lancashire, a retired railway worker whose son Paul, 45, does the same job, said: “Ten years later we are still told about ‘working towards it’.

“It would be reassuring to think it could never happen again, especially as my other son is still on the railway.”

Gary Tindall, 46, from Tebay, Chris Waters, 53, from Morecambe, and Colin Buckley, 49, from Carnforth, died alongside Darren when a wagon loaded with lengths of steel broke free at Tebay and sped down Shap summit.

Two men, Mark Connolly and Roy Kennett, were found guilty of manslaughter and breaching health and safety laws. Newcastle Crown Court heard Connolly cut the hydraulic brakes on the wagons in a bid to save cash.

On the morning of the disaster, Kennett was using a crane to load steel on to the wagons, despite not being qualified to operate such machinery.

He placed wooden blocks under the wheels but the wagon rolled over them and Kennett was helpless as it set off on its deadly journey.

Connolly was jailed for seven years and Kennett was given a two-year term. Darren, who was engaged and had just bought a house, would have celebrated his 40th birthday a week ago.

Thomas and Christine’s grief has been made all the harder because they were never able to see their son’s body to say goodbye.

Thomas added: “It has made it very hard. I was also very friendly with one of the other lads killed.”

A spokesman for Network Rail said: “Our thoughts remain with friends and families of the four men.

“All road-rail vehicles of the type that caused the Tebay accident are now fitted with an automatic braking system, and any without this are banned from our tracks.

“We have also been working on engineering a secondary protection system that has been trialled in the North West of England.

“There are modifications needed to the prototype, but we hope to deploy a full-production model in the coming months.”