Description
About the Hartfield event
Explanation & Answer
Attached.
Running head: HATFIELD RAIL CRASH INCIDENT
Review on Hatfield rail crash incident
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HATFIELD RAIL CRASH INCIDENT
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The circumstances of the incident and the specific structural failures that caused the
accident.
Hatfield rail crash was a disaster rail crash which occurred on October 2000. The cause of
the crash was broken rail, which was later found through inquiry. The disaster occurred at
Paddington, which led to the death of four passengers (The Telegraph, 2005). After the occurrence
of the Hatfield rail crash, there was a country-wide speed restriction imposed by the transport
industry across all networks. According to the Old Bailey court, the Hatfield train crash was "a
disaster waiting to happen," because of the flawed rail which had been noticed two years earlier
(Jack, 2017). The problem had been caused by Balfour Beatty, the engineering firm, and
Railtrack’s failure to operate within the rules of engineering maintenance. According to the
Telegraph, Balfour Beatty and Railtrack’s were operating "outside the rules" while conducting the
maintenance on the rail. The engineering firm, Balfour Beatty breached the safety rules of
maintenance while undertaking safety procedures on the rail. The Office of the Rail Regulation
sued Balfour Beatty for failing to manage rail maintenance and track inspection safety procedures.
According to the court ruling, the major cause of the incident were the damaged tracks
along the rail which had been ignored by the executives of the company as well as those of the
maintenance department. The accident resulted in the death of four people, hence according to Old
Bailey court jury, the incident amoun...
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