Amey Rail Limited fined £533,000 following electrical shock injury to worker

The incident involving Mr. Allister Hunt, a self-employed senior linesman for Amey, happened on 25 December 2019 as he carried out remedial ‘snagging’ works to overhead lines 2.5 miles outside Paddington Station, near Kensal Green, London.

The on-site team were unaware that they were working outside the electrical isolation and as a consequence Mr. Hunt touched the contact wire, live at 25,000 volts, which resulted in electric-shock injuries. Mr. Hunt suffered 55% burns, which have required skin grafts, while his eyesight and hearing were also both affected.

ORR found that:

• ARL had no effective and adequate system in place to ensure that the process of planning the works was carried out in a way that ensured the health and safety of those working on electrical lines
• ARL did not have effective systems in place to supervise the safe conduct of the works
• ARL failed to ensure that Test Before Touch was properly and adequately carried out

Ian Prosser, Chief Inspector of Railways, said:

Notes to Editors

1. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is the independent economic and safety regulator for Britain’s railways and scrutinises the performance and efficiency of England’s strategic road network.
2. Amey Rail Limited has been issued with a fine of £533,334 and ordered to pay costs of £41,000 and a victim surcharge of £181.
3. Test Before Touch is a method of proving conductors dead before persons are allowed to work on or near them. This is a fundamental safety requirement which is included in Network Rail’s Life Saving Rules.