A rail firm has been fined £1million following the death of a man who put his head out of a train window.
Simon Brown, from Sussex, put his head out of a window on the Gatwick Express in 2016. He died after his head collided with a signal gantry.
At the time of his death the 24-year-old “railway fanatic” had just landed a job as a train engineer.
GTR, which runs the service, pleaded guilty to a health and safety breach at a previous hearing over Brown’s death on August 7, 2016.
Sentencing the company at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday, Judge Jeffrey Pegden QC ordered the firm to pay a £1 million fine.
It was also ordered to pay £52,267 in costs.
A preliminary investigation by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) concluded that Brown “struck his head” on a signal gantry near Balham while the train was travelling at about 60 mph (96 km/h).
Rail investigators said, based on witness evidence, Brown was standing at a door in the third coach of the train when the accident happened.
“This door, which is intended for the use of the train’s guard and opens inwards, has an opening droplight. There is a notice above the window, ‘Do not lean out of window when train is moving’.”