NETWORK Rail and one of its signalman have been found guilty of breaching the Health and Safety Act after a train crashed into a car causing the death of its passenger.

Signalman Adrian Maund, aged 42, and Network Rail were found guilty today at Birmingham Crown Court following the incident on January 16, 2010.

A train travelling from Manchester to Milford Haven collided with a car at the Moreton-on-Lugg, Herefordshire, crossing causing serious injuries to the driver of the car and the death of passenger Jane Harding.

A detailed investigation was carried out and Maund, who was the signalman responsible for the level crossing, was charged with one count under Section 7 of the Health and Safety Act 1974 for failing to take reasonable care for the health and safety of other people likely to be affected by his actions or omissions at work.

Network Rail were also charged under Section 3 of the Health and Safety Act 1974 which imposes a duty on an employer to conduct their undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in their employment who may be affected thereby are not exposed to risks to their health and safety.

Jayne Salt, head of the West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service’s complex casework unit, said: “Adrian Maund and Network Rail both played very different parts in the tragic death of Jane Harding.

“It is right that an organisation that holds the safety of the public in its hands on a daily basis has been held to account for its decision making.

“My thoughts are with Mrs Harding’s family and I hope that this result gives them some small measure of comfort.”