[SystemSafety] Tram Accident in Croydon

[Peter Bernard Ladkin]

South London has a tram service, running from Beckenham in the east to Wimbledon in the west, via
Croydon. In Croydon, it uses partially some former railway lines, so I guess it is standard gauge,
1.435m, rather than the 1m gauge which is often used.

Apparently the trams are capable of 50 mph = 80 kph. There is a sharp corner on the rail lines,
after a tunnel, coming into the Sandilands stop in Croydon. The corner is apparently posted at 12
mph = 19 kph. Initial reports say a tram was taking the corner too fast. It derailed and turned onto
its side. Time and date are around 06.10 GMT = UTC on 2016.11.09.

7 people have been killed, 50 injured. It is the first fatal accident on UK rail/tram lines in 12
years, and in terms of the number killed the worst since Potters Bar in May 2002 (also 7 killed, but
50% more injured, at 76).

There are anecdotes (with names of passengers to them) that the corner is occasionally taken too
fast by other trams. Initial reports have the driver self-reporting to a passenger that he thinks he
blacked out. The driver has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/nov/09/croydon-tram-crash-kills-at-least-seven-and-injures-more-than-50

It is 82 years since the INDUSI emergency-braking system was introduced to German railways. In the
meantime, automatic braking systems are widely available, and should have been no problem to install
in a new-build rail system such as this. "Dead man's" handles/pedals are standard installation in
rail cabs in many countries, including Britain. Surely a sharp corner following an extended straight
stretch on segregated lines is an obvious place to look at installing protection. I wonder why it
wasn't done?

PBL

Prof. Peter Bernard Ladkin, Bielefeld, Germany
MoreInCommon
Je suis Charlie
Tel+msg +49 (0)521 880 7319  www.rvs-bi.de





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