The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has published its report into an incident with a tram in Staniforth Road in Sheffield last year, in which two pedestrians were injured. The report makes three recommendations for safety improvements.

On Sunday, 22 June 2025, at around 16:14, a tram collided with two pedestrians at the Staniforth Road footpath crossing in Sheffield.

The tram was travelling on the South Yorkshire Supertram network at approximately 17 mph (27 km/h) when the collision happened.

The two pedestrians struck by the tram were taken to hospital. One suffered serious injuries, the other minor injuries.

The RAIB’s investigation found that the pedestrians were not aware of the tram approaching them as they crossed into its path, because the tram’s audible warning devices did not alert them. Moreover, the layout of the crossing and its signage were not effective in alerting pedestrians..

RAIB also found that an underlying factor was that South Yorkshire Future Trams Ltd (the operator and maintainer of the tram network) and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (the owner of the network) did not have sufficiently effective risk management in place at Staniforth Road footpath crossing.

The report also concluded that one of the pedestrian’s injuries may have been made more serious by the raised cobble surface situated immediately beyond the crossing.

RAIB has made three recommendations to address the shortcomings it identified.

Firstly, it asks South Yorkshire Future Trams Ltd and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to continue their review of the risk assessment at Staniforth Road footpath crossing and to implement appropriate control measures.

Secondly, it asks South Yorkshire Future Trams Ltd to address inconsistencies in tram audible warning usage.

Thirdly, it recommends to South Yorkshire Future Trams Ltd and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority that they work with other relevant local transport organisations to identify all locations on the South Yorkshire Supertram network with a credible risk of pedestrians being struck by a tram, and to assess the risk and make changes to minimise the risk of injury.

The Supertram Network is undergoing a fifteen-year modernisation project.