Sade and Ade Kassim had been married for seven years before his death last year.

The inquest into the death of a railway safety worker, killed by two trains outside Purley Oaks Station last summer, provided little resolution for the victim's family, as the jury failed to reach a verdict last week.

Nurani Adedoyin Kassim, 36, of Cosedge Crescent, Waddon, died on the railway tracks shortly after midday on Wednesday, July 18, 2001, while acting as a look-out for AMEC during safety checks, following the Hatfield rail disaster.

During the inquest, AMEC's counsel Gerard Forlin said that the company admitted being in breach of safety regulations over Mr Kassim's working hours.

He was working ten-hour shifts daily, seven days a week, and had only had one day's holiday in the last 47 days, instead of one in 14. The inquest at Croydon Coroner's Court, centred around why Mr Kassim, an experienced look-out, had moved from a track-side place of safety or "down cess," to the hazardous gap between two tracks known as the "10 foot" where he was struck and killed.

On Wednesday, June 26, a ten- person jury failed to reach a verdict and delivered a narrative conclusion. The jury foreman said: "At his own discretion Mr Kassim moved from the down cess' in to the 10 foot'. He acknowledged the approaching Gatwick Express, but was not aware that the Connex train was approaching.

"On impact the Connex train threw him in to the path of the Gatwick Express causing his death."

A post-mortem gave the cause of death as multiple injuries, and revealed no trace of drug use, or alcohol. Dr Debbie Lucas, a psychologist for the Health and Safety Executive said that his working patterns could have led to a build up of fatigue, which might have affected his judgement.

"Ade" was described by his colleagues in court as "a brilliant man," and someone they could trust with their lives.

Expressing his sympathy for the family, Coroner Dr Roy Palmer acknowledged that the verdict was unusual: "I am sorry you haven't got answers to the questions you may have."

Afterwards Ade's brother Wale, 34, told the Guardian: "We wanted some answers but don't feel we got them. I am still angry about my brother's death." He refused to comment on the possibility of future proceedings.

o On the recommendations of the Health and Safety Executive, in April 2002 Railtrack introduced a new standard for protection of people working on or near the lines', which should help prevent further deaths. The death of Ade Kassim on July 18, 2001, was the second recorded track-worker fatality of four in the period April 2001 to April 2002. Three of the four deaths occurred during so-called "red-zone" works when workers check the tracks for cracks while the trains are running, following the Hatfield rail disaster in October 2000. The same period before Hatfield showed just two deaths, and the intensification of red zone work after Hatfield undoubtedly led to the 100 per cent increase in fatalities.

10:30am Wednesday 3rd July 2002

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