The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has released its report after a passenger received injuries at Ashton-under-Lyne Metrolink tram stop in Manchester.
On Tuesday 12th March 2019, around 22:55, a passenger was involved in a tram dispatch incident at Ashton-under-Lyne on the Manchester Metrolink. This action resulted in him falling from the platform and onto the tracks after the tram had departed.
The results were that the passenger sustained facial injuries from the fall, which needed treatment at the local hospital.
This accident, the RAIB has found, happened because the passenger had leant on the tram as it departed.
The man involved suffers from impaired mobility and meant that he finds it difficult to stand unaided. The tram driver hadn't seen the passenger was close to the tram when he started to depart from the station.
Once the tram had moved away from the passenger, it was no longer supporting him, resulting in him in falling on the tracks.
The RAIB has identified two underlying factors. The first factor is that the operator, Keolis Amey Metrolink, had not provided instructions to its drivers on how to use the side view CCTV monitors as the trams depart a station. Secondly, the operator had not provided any guidance to its staff on the correct actions if they find an impaired passenger on the tram.
Following its investigation, the RAIB has made four recommendations, these are:
- improving guidance to drivers on the use of the side-view CCTV monitors when departing from tram stops
- improving the visibility of passengers at tram stops
- reviewing the guidance given to staff who may encounter impaired passengers
The fourth and final recommendation has called for the operator and the North West Ambulance Service to develop a communication protocol so that any action carried out by the ambulance service is relayed to the operator's control office.
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