Deadly Tramlink Derailment In South London

The trolley reportedly entered a curve at high speed. So far 7 passengers have been confirmed dead and 50 others injured:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/09/europe/uk ... ram-crash/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

NH2060 wrote:The trolley reportedly entered a curve at high speed. So far 7 passengers have been confirmed dead and 50 others injured:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/09/europe/uk ... ram-crash/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are some reports from passengers that trams were in the habit of taking that curve too fast. This time the speed was even faster than the usual. That suggests the need for automatic slow-down mechanisms. The driver seems to be claiming a momentary black-out but I doubt he can rely on that as a defence. He is likely to be charged with manslaughter.

From the CNN site:

But one traveller, who was on the tram immediately before the crash, said he had not been surprised by the derailment.
"The rate you see tram drivers hare around those corners is frightening," said Con O'Sullivan. "They do go really fast when they travel on this route. I am not surprised something like this has eventually happened."

Croydon Tram Link videos: fender bender.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYwJOwzQueA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just a plain Croydon ram ride:: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVJNlpN8RAc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

philipmartin wrote:Croydon Tram Link videos: fender bender.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYwJOwzQueA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just a plain Croydon ram ride:: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVJNlpN8RAc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I used to go up to London for various kinds of business and I would visit Croydon frequently to see how the construction was going on. When it was complete I visited the whole system. It seemed an excellent facility and provided useful transport for the area. It is in an outer London suburban area with a town centre. Since it was built about 20 years ago there have been other proposals for trams in other parts of London but none have been built yet. However at the same period a number of tram systems were built in other parts of the country. This represented a revival of trams after all the previous systems - except Blackpool - were closed in the 1950s and 60s. I have also visited new systems in Sheffield, Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle.

The Croydon system made use of several closed heavy rail routes - hence the tunnels shown in the film. The main advantage over the heavy rail was more frequent stops, and more frequent service.

It does seem that the drivers have been ignoring the safety rules for tight corners - going too fast on curves. I hope that an enquiry will find out why and that there will be no more accidents of that kind. In general most of the system was carefully segregated from ordinary road vehicles. There is not much travel on ordinary roads, mixed with cars and lorries.