Rail workers face manslaughter charges over Hatfield crash

Six
railway workers and the two companies they work for made their first court
appearance yesterday to face charges of manslaughter following the Hatfield
rail crash.

Six
more people were also in court to face allegations of breaking health and
safety laws.

The
six charged with manslaughter are Charles Pollard, 45, director of Railtrack’s
north-east London zone; Alistair Cook, 50, infrastructure contracts manager for
Railtrack in the same region; Sean Fugill, 50, the area asset manager for
Railtrack; Anthony Walker, 46, regional director for Balfour Beatty; Nicholas Jeffries,
53, civil engineer for Balfour Beatty; and Keith Lea, 53, a track engineer for
Railtrack.

They
appeared before magistrates in St Albans, Hertfordshire, and are due to
reappear in a week.

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Railtrack
and Balfour Beatty Rail Infrastructure Services, the rail maintenance firm in
charge of the upkeep of track, face charges of corporate manslaughter.

By Quentin Reade