A British railway company, Great Western Railway (GWR), has been fined £1 million (approximately S$1.7 million) after a tragic accident in 2018 where a young woman was killed when her head struck a tree branch while looking out of a train window.
The victim, 28-year-old Bethan Roper, had been travelling home from a Christmas shopping trip in Bath when the fatal incident occurred. Reports from the BBC and Daily Mail revealed that Roper, who was intoxicated at the time, leaned her head out of a droplight window on a moving train. The train was travelling at about 120km/h when her head hit an overhanging branch, resulting in instant death.
Train Window Safety Lapses Led to Preventable Death
The train Roper boarded was operating between London Paddington and Exeter and featured droplight windows—windows that passengers could open to access an external handle to exit the train at certain stations. Despite their function, these windows had previously been flagged as dangerous.
In 2016, another passenger was killed in a similar accident near Balham, South London. Following that incident, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) advised GWR to carry out a risk assessment and improve safety measures to prevent further tragedies.
However, investigations found that while GWR completed a written risk assessment in 2017, it was deemed inadequate and not updated even after ORR raised concerns. The safety improvements proposed were also not implemented before Roper’s fatal accident in 2018.
ORR’s chief inspector of railways, Richard Hines, described the death as a “preventable tragedy”, stressing that train operators must take immediate action when safety issues are identified.
GWR Promises to Strengthen Passenger Safety
In court, GWR admitted to two counts of breaching health and safety regulations and was fined £1 million (S$1.7 million) and ordered to pay an additional £78,000 (S$135,000) in legal costs.
The company later released a statement expressing condolences to Roper’s family and friends, calling her death a “tragic incident”. It also reaffirmed its commitment to enhancing safety standards across its network.
“The safety of our passengers and colleagues remains our top priority,” GWR said, noting that the presiding judge acknowledged the company’s strong safety record before and after the incident.
Roper’s death continues to serve as a grim reminder of the importance of maintaining and reviewing railway safety standards. The case underscores how neglected risk assessments and delayed safety actions can lead to irreversible consequences—even on modern train systems.