Coming just a couple of weeks after the launch of a new safety campaign warning motorists and pedestrians of the dangers around trams in Nottingham there was disruption for Nottingham Express Transit on Wednesday 31st October following a collision at Meadows Embankment between a BMW and Citadis 226. The impact of the collision caused the front section of the tram to derail.
226 was travelling towards Clifton South (having started at Phoenix Park) at around 1345 when it was hit by the car just as it was about to climb onto the Wilford Toll Bridge whilst crossing Victoria Embankment between Meadows Embankment and Wilford Village tram stops. The collision caused the front section of the tram to be derailed with the front of 226 suffering damage. There were no injuries suffered on board the tram although the driver of the BMW did require medical treatment.
With an investigation immediately launched services were suspended between Queens Walk and Wilford Lane with a limited service operating either side of this disruption to Phoenix Park and Clifton South respectively. The tram was eventually rerailed – a procedure which included the need to remove a bollard from underneath the tram – and returned to Wilkinson Street Depot with through services able to resume shortly before 1730. As for the BMW this also seemed to suffer fairly major damage and pictures have shown that it had ended up on the bridge itself although its unclear if this was as a result of the collision or if he had been moved there out the way during the rescue operation.