Media centre

Monday 21 Nov 2005

REWARD OFFER – RAILWAY VANDALS HUNTED

Region & Route:

Network Rail and Northern Rail are offering a substantial cash reward after a serious incident of vandalism on Sunday, which risked derailing a train on the line at Darton. The £2,000 reward will be paid in exchange for information leading to the successful prosecution of the offenders. Vandals deliberately placed two lengths of rail on the line with the intent of obstructing a train. The incident happened at around 13.45 on Sunday 20 November. The 13.21 Leeds to Sheffield Northern Rail service struck the lengths of rail causing severe damage to the train’s fuel tanks and resulting in considerable disruption to passenger services. Specialist contractors and the Environment agency had to be called to the site to help prevent pollution of the area by some 200 litres of leaked fuel. Graham Botham, General Manager, Network Rail said: “We are not prepared to tolerate acts of vandalism on our network. Trespass and vandalism on the railway puts the lives of many passengers at risk so I would urge anyone with any information to come forward. With our industry partners we are committed to educating people about railway safety and ensuring that those who ignore these warnings and commit crimes on the railway are brought to justice.” Chris Kimberley, Commercial Director at Northern Rail, added: “This act of vandalism caused significant disruption and endangered the lives of hundreds of rail passengers. We hope this offer of a substantial reward will lead to information to assist the British Transport Police in identifying the culprits.” Anyone who has any further information is asked to contact the British Transport Police free and in confidence on 0800 40 50 40.