Train-window tragedy – ‘More could have been done to prevent death of woman’
briefings) before this accident.
“So, at the time of the accident, it was effectively operating on the basis of its pre-2017 understanding of the risks, which did not include the risk to people from leaning out of the windows of a moving train.”
Between April 2014 and January 2019 GWR recorded 16 times passengers or staff were injured leaning out of a droplight window. In 11 cases foliage was attributed to the incident.
The RAIB said: “Had GWR specifically identified the hazard of passengers leaning out of open windows and included it in its risk management process prior to the fatal accident at Balham, it is possible that it would have implemented additional mitigation measures which might have prevented the passenger leaning out of the window on December 1, 2018.”
The report said Network Rail had not carried out a tree inspection in the area since 2009.
It said: “Given that the tree had been visibly (to an expert) in poor health for around five years prior to the accident, it is possible that had a tree inspection been carried out and the incident tree considered for a specialist tree inspection in the five years prior to the accident it might have been identified as needing felling or pruning.”
Investigators found the lack of inspection was “possibly causal” to the incident.
Since Ms Roper’s death, the report said GWR had improved signs near droplight windows, briefed staff and train managers now make announcements about the danger of leaning out of open windows.
GWR said that it was already starting to phase out those trains at the time of the accident, and that from the end of December it will no longer operate the type of train Ms Roper was on.
A spokesman said: “Bethan Roper’s death in December last year was a tragic incident, and our thoughts remain with her family and friends. There are some clear lessons for the wider railway industry, including GWR, to learn.”
Ms Roper’s father Adrian said he would like to tell staff at the Queens Road Depot in Bristol and any railway workers or track inspectors who “might have been troubled” by the incident that they are “in no way” to blame.
He added: “The investigation report suggests some railway agency failings and I hope that they and others like them urgently take on the lessons of this tragedy.
“It is also worth noting in the investigation report that vegetation inspections were not carried out on the Bath to Bristol line for 10 years from 2009, and this happens to coincide with 10 years of austerity.
“The report suggests that, had an inspection been undertaken, it was at least possible that the tree which killed Beth would have been removed. I therefore think that at least some blame is due to those who deliberately starved public services of resources.
“Austerity is a policy which Beth actively campaigned against, and if she could speak to me now, I know she would want me to make this point.
“Austerity compromises public safety and costs innocent lives. It should be ended before anyone else dies unnecessarily.”
Mr Roper has previously spoken about her passion for fighting injustice and how he and her family and friends plan to continue her legacy.
Mr Roper said: “Myself and the family could not be more proud of her. She followed the causes of her heart and lived the fullest and truest of lives, never wasting a second.
“I sometimes feel it’s like something deep down within her knew that her time might be limited so that she absolutely made sure that she lived life to the full and didn’t waste a single talent or second.”
Two charities have been created to continue Ms Roper’s work after family and friends were left “with a big hole to fill” following her death.
The Bethan Roper Trust will aim to continue her work helping refugees and asylum seekers, and “Let Sharks B” will continue her work on shark conservation.