Network Rail has just been fined for a train crash that occurred three and a half years ago. They have obviously asserted that it will not happen again as improvements have been made, but if the verdict was only decided yesterday then no guarantee existed to ensure these improvements occurred.

If Network Rail were to have opposed the ruling, these key safety issues could have remained, endangering passengers and drivers alike for a considerable period of time.

The reason the fine is so large is that while the crash thankfully only caused minimal injury, it could have so easily been catastrophic. But is the court not repeating this mistake by allowing the possibility of danger to reoccur whilst the case waited around?

Failure to prevent incidents like this are irresponsible, especially when it is so clear what could have been done to avert such hazards.