The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has released its full report into a tram derailment in Nottingham.
A southbound tram was travelling at around 25mph on the 12th June 2023 when it approached a set of facing points in an unsafe condition at the north end of Bulwell Tram Stop.
When it travelling over the points, the tram’s front and second bogies of the tram were routed in different directions, causing the tram to derail.
The tram struck an overhead-wire pole during the derailment, which caused a pane of glass to dislodge and hit a passenger who suffered minor injuries.
The driver of the tram also suffered minor injuries, and the incident caused significant damage to the tram and infrastructure.
The spring loaded points were found to have not been reset correctly after the previous northbound trams, this can happen in normal working conditions, but the risk of this happening at the time of the incident had increased due to environmental conditions that caused the slide plates to become dry or contaminated.
Additionally, the tram driver had not observed the visual indicator that is located next to the points. The driver said that he believed he would be informed if there was a problem with the set of points – he had also become conditioned to there being no issues at this location so possibly became distracted.
Recommendations by the RAIB
RAIB has made three recommendations, all addressed to Nottingham Trams Limited. The first recommends a review of control room policy and procedures to ensure that clear and practical guidance is available to manage the response to engineering faults. The second recommendation relates to the improvement of risk assessments in light of this accident. The third recommendation concerns the consideration of human factors when assessing the effects of a proposed engineering change.
RAIB has also identified a learning point to remind tram drivers to not make assumptions about the status of signals or indicators based on their previous experience.
