Train driver fined £2000 for ignoring safety procedures and rules

On 26 April 2012, Mr McKenna was driving a Devon and Cornwall Railways locomotive from Birmingham to Crewe. Two crucial safety devices – the Driver Safety Device (DSD) and National Radio Network (NRN) radio – stopped working shortly after he set off. Going by his training and the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) Rule Book, he should have notified the signaller immediately so that he could get instructions that allow the train to safely continue the journey or to move to a safer place where the train could be assessed. He did not do that. Once on the WCML, the train's speedometer also stopped working and he chose to ignore safety procedures for the second time by failing to stop the locomotive and notify the signaller.

The sentencing at Birmingham Magistrates Court follows an ORR investigation into the incident. The investigation found Mr McKenna was driving a locomotive with three failed safety devices, the signaller had no knowledge of the problems on the train and therefore had no means of contacting the driver. Driving trains is a safety critical task requiring extensive training and in order to be declared competent, train drivers must have knowledge of and adhere to the RSSB Rule Book. By not following safety rules, Mr McKenna failed in his duty to manage the safety risks associated with driving a train.

Notes to editors

• The Office of Rail and Road is the independent economic and safety rail regulator and the independent strategic roads monitor for England.
• Use of the name, the Office of Rail and Road, reflects the new roads functions conferred on the Office by the Infrastructure Act 2015. Until this name change is confirmed by legislation, the Office of Rail Regulation will continue to be used in all documents, decisions and matters having legal effects or consequences.
• Follow ORR on Twitter @railregulation for latest news data and announcements on the rail industry and @highwaysmonitor to keep updated on ORR's strategic road monitoring work.
• ORR prosecuted Mr McKenna for a breach of Section 7(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA).
• The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) Rule Book mandates the requirements and actions to be taken when safety systems fail or are isolated. http://www.rssb.co.uk/standards-and-the-rail-industry/railway-group-standards/the-rule-book
• Trains are fitted with a number of systems, and back-up systems, to ensure the safety of persons on and around the rail network. 
  Driver's Safety Device (DSD)
  The Driver's Safety Device is a safety system installed on all mainline trains to ensure the vigilance of drivers.  An alert is sounded at intervals which require a driver to take an action to respond, if the driver fails to do so then the brakes are automatically applied by the DSD system.  The requirement to have a DSD systems arose out of historical instances where drivers had lost concentration, fallen ill or even died, resulting in catastrophic incidents.
  National Radio Network (NRN) radio
  Maintaining control of the rail network is reliant upon signallers being able to contact drivers directly in the event of an emergency.  The NRN radio system allows signallers to make this direct contact with the driver.  It also provides a broadcast function so that all trains in a certain area can be warned of any issues, for example where workers are on the line carrying out emergency engineering work.