Tram/'Light Rail' Crashes

We have no list of crashes involving Suspension Monorail.
Because of its design, crashes do not happen. There was a single exception back in 1999 at Wuppertal. This was caused by a maintenance error - not by other traffic.
See Precedents). This level of safety has major consequences in terms of ongoing reliability and cost savings for the community as well as for the monorail system.

In contrast to that, all ground-based road-sharing forms of “rapid” transport inevitably involve collisions, which bring the system to a standstill (often for hours because the tram usually derails).

Trams are much heavier than buses, and this combined with the metal-on-metal wheel/rail interface, makes emergency braking far slower.

If you are unconvinced, try viewing this YouTube compilation video, from dashcam footage; and this one. Still think sharing roads with trams is a good idea?

Closer to home, see these recent Australian examples; plus some history from Wellington, New Zealand: -
 


SYDNEY TRAM CRASHES

, 26 January 2020;   24 Aug 2020,

Sydney-20200126

 

 Sydney 2022, 5 Sep  (Tram vs Fire Truck!... Click photo below for video).
& another 15 Sep.

Sydney-Haymarket-Tram-v-Firetruck-Sep2022

 

CANBERRA TRAM CRASHES

, 16 July 2019 (see photo); and pedestrians hit, March & August 2019

Canberra-20190716

 

MELBOURNE TRAM CRASHES

Melbourne’s crash rate rose 40% in 4 years; then 60% in 2022 alone (see below), starting from more than 1100 tram vs car crashes in 2018; such as this serious crash, 5 Oct 2019, when the tram derailed, went through fence, with several injured.

Melbourne 5-10-2019

 

By 2021 the situation had worsened, and further safety measures were considered - Tram passengers put in danger every day in Melbourne (9 News, 4/5/2021)
 Melbourne-tram-barrier-2021  Melbourne2022TramCrash-02

.But will these $2.7M low barriers (above), that are intended to deter turning drivers like this have any effect in protecting passengers (see below) from unsafe road/track design, allowing Trams to discharge & admit passengers in the middle of shared roadway?

Melbourne-tram-ax- 

 Another example (March 2022): Passenger struck while waiting to board - apparently at a tram stop that expects passengers to wait on the road itself. On a dark morning, the 26 year old aged-care worker sustained critical injuries when struck by a passing car.The report and later trial focused on issues of blame for the drivers involved, with of course no mention of the obviously unsafe road design - a tram stop in the middle of a road!

Tram derailed by truck (2/9/2022) - 2 taken to hospital, the truck driver and an elderly passenger.  Click image below:

                                                                                                 Ashampoo_Snap_Wednesday, December 7, 2022_15h38m4s

 

Pedestrian killed after being hit by tram in South Melbourne (10 Sept 2022). Significant traffic delays followed.

A cyclist was seriously injured colliding with a tram (17 Feb 2023).

Elderly woman on mobility scooter killed when struck by a tram at an intersection, within 2 hours of a similar accident at same intersection (Essendon, Melbourne; Thurs 11 April 2023). Locals were incensed about lack of action...

Tram crashes increasing in Melbourne (3/6/2023)...Melbourne has almost THREE daily vehicle-to-tram collisions. There were 960 vehicle-to-tram collisions recorded in 2022, with 166 of them classified as serious;

60% increase in tram crash incidence, in 2022 (click image)

202303 Melbourne tram

 

 

HISTORICAL TRAM CRASHES, NEW ZEALAND

WELLINGTON: For details, please see  our  Lost History pages. For example --

On 3 May 1907 a tram ran out of control in Brooklyn. Wet weather contributed to difficulties stopping (trams have metal wheels on metal tracks). This would have been aggravated by the downward sloping terrain, and the tram capsized at a bend, killing one passenger. No details of other injured passengers
19070503 Wellington, Brlookly derailment; 1 death

[Brooklyn tramway accident. Ref: 1/2-080521-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23152873]

19070503b Wellington, Brlookly derailment; 1 death.

WELLINGTON NZ: In 1955 at the corner of Aro & Willis Streets, a tram and car collided, derailing the tram. No information about injuries

Wellington-008

[Tram and car collision at the intersection of Aro and Willis  Streets, Wellington. Evening post (Newspaper. 1865-2002) :Photographic  negatives and prints of the Evening Post newspaper. Ref: EP/1955/2099-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22812153]

 

INTERNATIONAL TRAM CRASHES-

USA: Pedestrian death, Denver, 4 Oct 2018. Note that this was a properly signposted RAILWAY CROSSING, with (presumably) flashing lights and bells, and visible barrier arm.  - Such precautions do not seem to exist in Sydney’s so-called “Light Rail”, and hence such events appear predictably more common in Australia.

Denver-20181004

 

FROM WIKIPEDIA’S  LIST OF TRAM ACCIDENTS -

UK: On 9 November 2016 a Croydon tram derailed on a bend, killing 7 and injuring 62 (16 severely). It had been travelling at about 73 km/h, where the limit was 20 km/h, with driver fatigue a likely factor. Prior to that, 1959 had last seen a fatal tram accident in the UK (Glasgow, with 3 dead); with another in 1917 at Dover claiming 11 dead and 60 injured

20161109 Sandilands_Junction_derailed_tram; 7 dead

UK: On 25 October 2018 a Sheffield Stagecoach Supertram operating on the newly opened Tram-Train route collided with a lorry at the Staniforth Road/Woodburn Road junction in Attercliffe. It is believed the lorry ran a red  light. Several people were taken to hospital but there were no  fatalities.

UK: On 30 November 2018 a Sheffield Stagecoach Supertram operating on the  same Tram-Train route as the above-mentioned incident, collided with a  car at exactly the same location. Several people were treated at the  scene for minor injuries, and one was taken to hospital but later  discharged. There were no major injuries or fatalities. The cause of  this incident is currently unknown and under investigation.

UK: West Midlands Metro tram 31 was derailed on 19 August 2019 by collision with a private  vehicle. The car driver was injured as were the tram driver and four  passengers on the tram. The crash was caused by the car driver running a red light on the Bilston Road Island, close to Wolverhampton City Centre.