Politicians at Croydon Town Hall and in City Hall this afternoon called for all of the recommendations in the RAIB report to be implemented as soon as possible.
Tony Newman, left, the council leader, with London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Croydon Mayor Toni Letts at last month’s tram memorial service
The Rail Accident Investigations Branch report published today followed an investigation into last year’s tragic tram derailment at Sandilands, where seven people were killed and 61 injured.
“Our residents rightly expect to be safe when travelling on public transport networks and I welcome the recommendations outlined in the report,” Tony Newman, the Labour leader of Croydon Council, said.
“Passenger safety is paramount and I would like to see those recommended actions be put in place as quickly as possible to prevent anything like this ever happening again.”
Among the RAIB recommendations are:
- technology, such as automatic braking and systems to monitor driver alertness
- better understanding the risks associated with tramway operations, particularly when the tramway is not on a road, and the production of guidance on how these risks should be managed
- improving the strength of doors and windows
- improvements to safety management systems, particularly encouraging a culture in which everyone feels able to report their own mistakes
- improvements to the tram operator’s safety management arrangements so as to encourage staff to report their own mistakes and other safety issues
- reviewing how tramways are regulated
- a dedicated safety body for UK tramways
And from City Hall, London-wide Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon, from the Liberal Democrats, said, “Sadly the clock can never be turned back, but one thing that must now happen is that each and every recommendation from this investigation report is implemented as quickly as possible.
“Let’s now ensure that in years to come people look back with amazement that there was ever a time when the risk of trams overturning on curves was not properly understood.”
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