Woman accused of driving on Metro line

Apr 11 2009 by Adam Jupp, The Journal

A WOMAN has appeared in court accused of driving her car hundreds of yards down a Metro track.

It is alleged Karen Angus, 40, risked passengers’ lives by travelling on the line before breaking down as a train approached.

She was arrested after a silver Mercedes was found on the tracks between the Wansbeck Road and Fawdon stations in Newcastle.

Now, Angus, of Kielder Way, Gosforth, Newcastle, has appeared before magistrates in Newcastle for the first time.

She faces charges of endangering the safety of persons conveyed by railway and failing to give a breath test.

Angus spokes only to confirm her name, address and date of birth, as her case was adjourned for legal aid to be obtained.

Claire Paczko, prosecuting, gave no further details of the case, while Peter Docherty, defending, withheld his client’s plea until the next hearing.

At the time of the incident, the Metro driver spotted the vehicle on the tracks and had to brake sharply, managing to come to a rest 50 yards from it.

All trains were stopped for several hours as a result and Metro operator Nexus had to put on a taxi service for passengers travelling between Kingston Park and the Regent Centre, while recovery work took place.

The company has been hit with a huge bill and has indicated it may pursue compensation through the driver of the car’s insurance company once legal proceedings have finished.

A spokesman said: “I can confirm we are contemplating legal action. We are calculating our costs which have ran into the thousands, possibly up to £10,000. Luckily there was no damage to the line, but it cost us as we had to stop the Metros while the car was on the track.

“We had to hire a fleet of six taxis for two hours to ferry passengers and we had to call out people to check the 600 metres of track driven down.”