On 9 November 2016, a

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

operated by

Tramlink London Trams, previously Tramlink and Croydon Tramlink, is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It began operation in 2000, the first tram system in the London region since 1952. It is manage ...

derailed and overturned on a sharp bend approaching a junction. Of a total 69 passengers, there were seven fatalities and 62 injured, 19 of whom sustained serious injuries. This was the first tram incident in the United Kingdom in which passengers died since 1959. The service was running from

New Addington New Addington is a town in South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located 5 miles south east of Croydon, south of Addington Village and north of Biggin Hill. History Until the 1930s, the area now known as New Addingt ...

to via Croydon, and was on the approach to

Sandilands tram stop Sandilands tram stop is a light rail stop in the London Borough of Croydon in the southern suburbs of London. It serves the residential area along Addiscombe Road to the east of the centre of the town of Croydon. Services Sandilands is served ...

soon after 06:00. The second interim report into the accident indicated that although the speed limit approaching the junction was , the tram had been travelling at approximately . Driver error was found to be the cause of the accident. A

Rail Accident Investigation Branch The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) is a British government agency that independently investigates rail accidents in the United Kingdom and the Channel Tunnel in order to find a cause, not to lay blame. Created in 2005, it is required by ...

investigation found that the driver of the tram had had a

microsleep A microsleep is a sudden temporary episode of sleep or drowsiness which may last for a few seconds where an individual fails to respond to some arbitrary sensory input and becomes unconscious.International Classification of Sleep Disorders, , pa ...

before the crash. An inquest returned verdicts of accidental death on all seven victims. In March 2022, the

Office of Rail and Road The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the economic and safety regulation of Britain's railways, and the economic monitoring of National Highways. ORR regulates Network Rail by setting its ...

announced that it was to prosecute the driver of the tram, Tram Operations Limited and Transport for London over the accident.

Accident

The accident took place in the dark and during heavy rain at 06:07, on a sharp left curve approaching the points where the route from

(on which the tram was operating) converges with the line from

Beckenham Junction Beckenham Junction is the main railway and tram station in Beckenham in the London Borough of Bromley, south London. The railway stop is on the Chatham Main Line, down the line from and situated between and . The tram stop is one of the east ...

and

Elmers End Elmers End is an area of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, Greater London and formerly part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south of Beckenham, west of Eden Park, north of Monks Orchard and east of An ...

. The curve is located in a

cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...

, which comes almost immediately after the line emerges from a series of three tunnels on a straight section of track after leaving

Lloyd Park tram stop Lloyd Park tram stop is on the edge of Lloyd Park in the London Borough of Croydon in the southern suburbs of London, beside Coombe Road and opposite Croham Park Avenue and Castlemaine Avenue. It is 200 metres east of the site of the Coombe R ...

. It has been described as a "sharp bend", and has a speed restriction. The tram entered the curve at a speed of approximately and derailed, overturning on its right side and coming to a stand beyond the point of derailment, damaging the side of the tram and ejecting several passengers through broken windows. The tram involved was No. 2551, a

Bombardier CR4000 The Bombardier CR4000 is a 76% low floor model of the Bombardier Flexity Swift series of tram operated by Tramlink in London. They are based on and very similar in appearance to the K4000 built for use on the low-platform routes of the Cologne St ...

constructed in 1998 by

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...

, a two-section

articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were someti ...

unit with a maximum design speed of . The emergency services confirmed that 51 people were injured, and initially stated that five had died. The death toll later rose to seven. The victims, six men and a woman, were between 19 and 63 years old. Sixteen of the survivors were described as having serious or life-threatening injuries. The final casualty figures were seven dead and 62 injured, 19 seriously. One person was uninjured. It was the deadliest

tram accident A tram accident is any accident involving a tram. Alternatively, any accident involving a tram or a tram system may be considered a tram accident. The latter definition is more commonly used in public safety studies. Tram systems are typically c ...

in the United Kingdom since an accident at Dover in 1917 killed eleven and injured 60, and the first in the United Kingdom in which passengers died since three people died in an accident in Glasgow in 1959. It is also the deadliest accident on any rail network in the UK since the 2001

Great Heck rail crash The Selby rail crash (also known as the Great Heck Rail Crash) was a high-speed train crash that occurred at Great Heck near Selby, North Yorkshire, England, on the morning of 28February 2001. An InterCity 225 passenger train operated by Great ...

Aftermath

The injured were taken to

St George's Hospital St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals and one of the largest hospitals in Europe. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundatio ...

Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and partly in the London Borough of Merton. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre- Saxon times ...

, and to

Croydon University Hospital Croydon University Hospital, known from 1923 to 2002 as Mayday Hospital and from 2002 to 2010 as Croydon Hospital, is a large NHS hospital in Thornton Heath in south London, England run by Croydon Health Services NHS Trust. It is a District Gener ...

. As well as the 51 people taken to hospital, seven more made their own way to hospital for treatment. Twenty-two ambulances, eight fire engines, and over 70 firefighters from the

London Fire Brigade The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865, under the leadership of superintendent Eyre Massey Shaw. It has 5,992staff, in ...

were sent to the scene. Assistance was given by

Croydon Council Croydon London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Croydon in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Croydon is divided into 28 wards, electing 70 co ...

, the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

and railway

chaplains A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligence ...

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Transport for London (TfL), said it was "shocked and saddened by what happened." An extra minute was added to the two-minute

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I a ...

silence at

Croydon Cenotaph Croydon Cenotaph is a war memorial, in Croydon, London, England. It is located outside the Croydon Clocktower arts complex (historically Croydon Town Hall), on Katharine Street in Croydon. The cenotaph, made from Portland stone, was designed by ...

. TfL later made an offer to cover the funeral expenses of the victims. During the night of 10–11 November, the tram was righted in preparation for removal from the accident site, and it was removed on the morning of 12 November. The tram had suffered serious damage to its right side, onto which it had overturned. After the accident, no services operated on the line between

East Croydon East Croydon is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, Greater London, England, and is located in Travelcard Zone 5. At from , it is one of the busiest non-terminal stations in London, and in the United Kingdom as a whole. It is one of t ...

and Addington Village, Harrington Road or . Partial tram services ran between East Croydon and , between and Addington Village, and between and Harrington Road. Full services were reinstated on 18 November. It was found that the speed restriction sign for the bend at Sandilands was not visible to drivers until the tram had travelled past the point where braking would need to have been initiated to reach the required speed at the sign ⁠— ⁠drivers "were expected to know this from their knowledge of the route". At Sandilands, an additional speed restriction was imposed before the curve, and chevron signs were installed to give better warning of the curve. Chevron signs were also installed at three other locations on the Croydon Tramlink system. Following recommendations made in the first interim report into the accident, tram systems in the United Kingdom introduced stepped speed reductions where there was a required reduction in speed of or more. This affected systems in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, the West Midlands and

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

. In March 2017, it was reported that Tramtrack Croydon and TfL had admitted liability for the accident. Victims and survivors would not have to sue for compensation for losses caused by the accident. In August 2017 TfL confirmed they would be altering Tramlink timetables to take account of reduced speed limits. In November 2017, two days of strikes by tram drivers were announced following the installation of fatigue monitoring devices. The devices shine an infrared light into the driver's face and are capable of generating an alert and vibrating the driver's chair if eye movements indicate a lack of attention. Some drivers have raised concerns about health and safety issues, and have described the device as a "spy in the cab". On 22 January 2018, the

(ORR) organised a safety summit in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

to discuss the findings of the

(RAIB) report on the investigation into the accident. In January 2019, it was announced that all trams on the system were to be fitted with a system which would automatically apply the brakes if the tram exceeded the speed limit. As of July 2019, tram 2551 was still in the custody of the RAIB in

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

and had not returned to service. The decision that no prosecutions were to take place meant that an inquest could be held. A pre-inquest review was held at

Croydon Town Hall Croydon Town Hall is a council building in Katharine Street, Croydon which serves as headquarters for Croydon London Borough Council. It is a Grade II listed building. History Croydon's first town hall, which was located on the west side of th ...

on 25 September 2019. The driver of the tram did not attend, saying he was unwell. His decision was criticised by the barrister representing five of the victims. The full inquest was due to begin on 19 October 2020, but was delayed until 17 May 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The inquest was held at the

Fairfield Halls Fairfield Halls is an arts, entertainment and conference centre in Croydon, London, England, which opened in 1962 and contains a theatre and gallery, and a large concert hall regularly used for BBC television, radio and orchestral recordings. Fa ...

, Croydon. A jury was sworn in on 17 May, and on 22 July returned a verdict of

accidental death An accidental death is an unnatural death that is caused by an accident, such as a slip and fall, traffic collision, or accidental poisoning. Accidental deaths are distinguished from death by natural causes, disease, and from intentional homicide ...

. Relatives of the victims of the accident announced that they intend to call on

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Michael Ellis to apply to the High Court for a fresh inquest. The mother of one of the victims called for a

public enquiry A tribunal of inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body. In many common law countries, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Canada, such a public inquiry differs from a royal commission in that ...

in to the accident.

Investigations

British Transport Police

The 42-year-old tram driver was arrested by the

British Transport Police , nativename = , abbreviation = BTP , patch = , patchcaption = , logo = British Transport Police Logo.svg , logocaption = Logo of the British Transport Police , badge = , badgecaption = , f ...

on suspicion of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

. After questioning, he was released on bail until May 2017. According to ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'', one aspect of the police investigation was whether or not the tram driver fell asleep; and ''The Guardian'' reported that some passengers said the driver had blacked out at the controls. In November 2017, it was reported that a file was being prepared for the

Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...

(CPS), who would decide whether or not a trial would take place. it was reported that the CPS were still awaiting the file from the British Transport Police, who were still gathering evidence. On 31 October 2019, British Transport Police and the CPS announced that neither the driver, operating company or TfL would face prosecution. The CPS stated that while there was evidence of negligence by the driver, it did not count as "gross" and so "manslaughter by gross negligence" could not apply. Prosecutors also stated that because the section of tramway where the crash happened was neither legally a railway nor a public place then various other potential offences would not apply. A former driver suggested to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' that a blackout was a possibility, due to the erratic shift patterns that the drivers had to adhere to. He also said that the vending machine at the tram depot was stocked only with energy drinks, and that "Nobody is ever fully awake; I was always in a bit of a daze and that is because the way the shifts work doesn't allow the drivers to get a regular sleep pattern." Following this, multiple sources reported on a video apparently showing a different driver struggling to stay awake at the controls. The driver concerned was suspended pending an investigation into the matter.

Victoria Derbyshire programme

In April 2017, the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

programme ''

Victoria Derbyshire Victoria Antoinette Derbyshire is a British journalist, newsreader and broadcaster. Her eponymous Victoria Derbyshire (TV programme), current affairs and debate programme was broadcast on BBC Two and the BBC News (TV channel), BBC News Channel ...

'' reported that its own investigation into drivers falling asleep at the controls of trams on the Tramlink network revealed four such cases. Six drivers claimed that the

dead-man's vigilance device A dead-man's vigilance device (also called the Driver Vigilance Device or DVD for short) is a railroad safety device that operates in the case of incapacitation of the driver. It is a hybrid between a dead-man's switch and a vigilance control. ...

fitted to the trams was not fit for purpose. Tramlink stated that the devices were "fully functional".

Office of Rail and Road

The ORR opened its own investigation into the accident, concentrating on whether or not safety rules were followed. They confirmed that British trams are not fitted with an overspeed protection system. The ORR was expected to make an announcement about its investigation early in 2018. On the third anniversary of the accident, the ORR

tweeted Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that its investigation was ongoing.

Rail Accident Investigation Branch

The RAIB also investigated the accident, with data from the tram's on-board event recorder being analysed. The RAIB stated that initial indications suggested that the tram was travelling at a significantly higher speed than permitted. ''

Rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

'' magazine reported that the tram's electro-magnetic track brakes had not been activated. Following the accident, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' reported that on 31 October passengers had made allegations on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

of a tram travelling round the curve at excessive speed. The ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' reported an earlier passenger complaint describing the tram as "tipping" on the curve. The driver of the tram involved in the incident of 31 October was not the one involved in the accident on 9 November. The interim report was released a week later on 16 November 2016. At the time of the accident it was dark and it was raining heavily. There was no evidence of any track defects, or obstructions on the track, that could have contributed to the derailment. Initial investigation did not indicate any malfunction of the tram's braking system. Initial findings were that the tram was travelling at approximately at the time of the accident—far exceeding the speed restriction. The RAIB interim report noted that "a tram approaching the Sandilands Junction area from Lloyd Park at would need to brake at its full service rate of 1.3m/s² for approximately 180metres ( for ) before the speed restriction board in order to be travelling at when the board was reached." The On Tram Data Recorder (OTDR) indicated that some braking had occurred within this distance but only sufficient to reduce the tram's speed from . A recommendation was made that a further speed limit should be introduced prior to the one for the curve at Sandilands Junction before the line reopened to traffic. The recommendation was accepted and three further speed restrictions were put in place before the line reopened. The report also found that a number of passengers with fatal or serious injuries had been ejected from the tram through broken bodyside and door windows. In November 2016, ''Rail'' magazine called for the RAIB to complete its investigation and release the final report "much more rapidly than has become the norm". A second interim report was released on 20 February 2017. In April 2017, it was reported that there had been three cases of speeding on the section of line which included the accident site in the period November 2016 – April 2017. In one case, a tram was reported to be travelling at in a zone. Within the second interim report the RAIB noted that drivers of trams approaching the curve could be expected to sight the curve and the speed restriction sign from with full beam headlights and with dipped beam headlights. Although the report states that the tram's braking system was not capable of slowing the tram sufficiently between the point where the speed restriction sign became visible and the point at which the speed restriction is enforced, it also says, "There was no sign to indicate to drivers where they should begin to apply the brake for the Sandilands curve; they were expected to know this from their knowledge of the route." In the light of the first interim report the ORR requested that all operators of light rail tramway systems apply a system of stepped speed restrictions where reductions in speed greater than are required by changes in the characteristics of the track. The final report was published on 7 December 2017. Driver error was found to be the cause of the accident, with the most likely scenario being that the driver had a

episode approaching the bend. Fifteen recommendations were made. Key findings of the RAIB investigation were that the tram's windows, which were made of

toughened glass Tempered or toughened glass is a type of safety glass processed by controlled thermal or chemical treatments to increase its strength compared with normal glass. Tempering puts the outer surfaces into compression and the interior into tension. ...

, were not strong enough to contain passengers inside the tram. All the fatalities had been ejected through the right side windows.

Laminated glass Laminated glass (LG) is a type of safety glass that holds together when shattered. In the event of breaking, it is held in place by a thin polymer interlayer, typically of polyvinyl butyral (PVB), ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), lonoplast polymer ...

would not have broken, improving the survivability of the accident. Regulations applying to trams were similar to those applying to buses. If railway regulations had applied, laminated glass would have been fitted. The tram's operators had not considered it possible for a tramcar to overturn. There had been insufficient reporting of previous incidents by drivers, who feared that they would be disciplined rather than such reports being seen as an opportunity to learn a safety lesson (a "blame culture" rather than a

just culture ''Just culture'' is a concept related to systems thinking which emphasizes that mistakes are generally a product of faulty organizational cultures, rather than solely brought about by the person or persons directly involved. In a just culture, af ...

). The system for dealing with complaints from passengers was not fit for purpose. The investigation also found that trams were not as safe as the ORR previously thought, having a higher accident rate than other rail transport and also buses and coaches. An update to the final report was issued on 24 October 2018. The update included the addition of a Transport for London (TfL) audit of Tram Operations Limited's fatigue risk management system, a copy of a letter sent to all UK tram operators and some minor technical corrections. In response to Recommendation 1 of the final report, the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board (LRSSB) was established. The ORR has observer status on the LRSSB.

Transport for London

TfL opened an investigation into the accident. It was expected to publish its report in early 2018. TfL stated that all recommendations from the RAIB final report would be implemented.

New safety measures

During 2019 an automatic system to apply the tram brakes if the speed limit is exceeded at "high risk locations" on the Tramlink network was installed. On tramcars, the thickness of the window safety film was increased from 100 μm to 175 μm, to prevent passengers being ejected during an accident, and emergency lighting, independent of the tram battery, was installed. In April 2019 the RAIB reported that the addition of the thicker film to Tramlink trams had been implemented. Tests had shown that containment provided by the film had been improved.

Prosecution

On 24 March 2022, the ORR announced that it was to prosecute the driver of the tram, Tram Operations Limited (TOL) and Transport for London (TfL) over the accident. The driver is charged with "failure to take reasonable care of passengers". The companies are both charged with "failure to ensure the health and safety of passengers on the Croydon Tramlink network, so far as reasonably practicable". The trial started on 10 June at Croydon Magistrates Court. TOL and TfL pleaded guilty to offences under Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The tram driver pleaded not guilty to a charge under section 7(a) of that act. The case was sent to the Crown Court for a pre-trial hearing and case management.

Memorials

There are two memorials to the crash – one by the site of the crash itself on Sandilands road, and another in

References

External links

*
Final report of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croydon tram derailment, 2016 Tramlink 2016 disasters in the United Kingdom 2016 in London 2016 tram derailment November 2016 events in the United Kingdom Railway accidents in 2016 Railway accidents and incidents in London Tram accidents