Train passenger took his child on to railway lines
£200 FINE FOR FRUSTRATED FATHER
A PASSENGER opened a train door and walked along the tracks while holding a young child in his arms, a court has heard.
Adam Bone had become frustrated that the Northern Rail service he was on had been stopped for “some considerable time” due to a signalling problem, so decided to leave the carriage and walk along the line.
A court heard that the 30-year-old was spotted by police as he carried a child along the tracks and into Pelaw Station, in Gateshead.
The foolish and dangerous move has now hit Bone in the pocket after he was charged with causing endangered safety of person conveyed on a railway, in breach of an act dating back to the 19th century. He pleaded guilty to the offence when he appeared at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court last week.
Chairing magistrate, Keith Mcintosh,
told him: “Lets be honest, it was a stupid thing to do, really stupid.
“You opened a train door. You had a child with you. So, that child, at some stage, is going to think it’s appropriate to open a train door.”
Brian Payne, prosecuting, said Bone, of Taylor Grove, in Wingate, County Durham, was travelling on a Northern Rail service on February 25 last year when it was stopped on the line near Pelaw because of signalling problems. Mr Payne continued: “Frankly, this incident was stupidity. There is a Northern Rail service stopped because the signals have stopped short of Pelaw station. It’s there for a considerable period of time as they attempted to fix the problem. The train was relatively crowded.
“The defendant took the decision to open the train door, get out the train and on to the running lines, carrying with him a small child. The running lines are outside the running lines of the Metro and he waited until a Metro train had pulled out of Pelaw.”
The court heard that the British Transport Police were already at Pelaw station, having been called due to the behaviour of other people on the train, and saw Bone, who was on a suspended sentence at the time.
Mr Payne added: “The defendant’s behaviour was high on the list of stupidity.”
Stephen Davies, defending, said Bone had become frustrated with the behaviour of other passengers on the train and felt he had to do something to get off.
Mr Davies told magistrates: “He did make sure the line was clear when he left the train.”
Bone was fined £200 and must pay £40 costs and a 334 victim surcharge.