There was a major collision between a van and Metrolink M5000 3085 at Ashton West early on Tuesday 8th December, causing severe damage to an overhead pole with the van driver requiring hospital treatment for his injuries. The RTC occurred at around 0730 with a major response from the emergency services required to attend the scene.
Initial reports suggest that there were no injuries on board the tram but the van driver did require treatment although it is unknown about the severity of his injuries. The Fire Service were on scene for approximately two hours and they were joined by the Ambulance Service. Specialist cutting equipment was required to free the driver from the van. It took around two hours to free the driver – in his 40s – from his vehicle with photos showing that the van took the brunt of the collision.
Its not clear from images from the scene as to how severely the damage to 3085 is although an overhead pole did receive damage which requires Metrolink staff to repair this before services can resume.
No Metrolink services were able to run between Ashton-under-Lyne and Ashton Moss with ticket acceptance in place on local buses and Northern Rail services.
It is anticipated that disruption to services will continue until at least the end of Tuesday 8th December.
Danny Vaughan, Head of Metrolink at TfGM, said: “This is a serious collision and our current focus is supporting emergency services in responding to this incident. We do not believe any tram passengers were injured but the extent of any injuries to the van driver is unknown at this time. The impact of the collision has caused damage to an overhead line pole, so it is likely to take some time to get services up and running. We’ll continue to keep passengers informed and I’d encourage people to check before they travel.”