Nottingham Express Transit have announced that they have launched an investigation into a minor incident which saw a tram on the approach to Nottingham Station sent across points onto the opposite track. There was no collision as a result of the switch but NET will be investigating to see what was the cause.
The incident happened on the evening of Thursday 18th September and involved a Bombardier Incentro which was running a service from Hucknall to Toton Lane. It appears that for some reason the points were set for the tram to change from the normal line to the track taking trams in the opposite direction. The driver of the tram brought it to a stop before the stop and passengers alighted.
Trevor Stocker, Head of Operations and Safety for NET, is quoted in the Nottingham Post: “We can confirm that a minor incident occurred on Thursday evening at Nottingham Station, which we are investigating as per our rigorous safety protocols. Our highly trained driver reacted quickly and immediately stopped to ensure the safety of all passengers. We apologise for any alarm that this caused. Any incidents on the network are thoroughly investigated to ensure the safety of our drivers and passengers remain our utmost priority.”
How come an incident that might have resulted in a head on collision is a minor inciden?
MIGHT but DIDN’T so yes minor incident.
I would suggest that the reason it was classified as a minor incident is that on a tramway the vehicles are driven on line of sight meaning that the driver must always be able to stop within the distance he or she can see ahead. The signals do give absolute authority to proceed. As with a green traffic signal the meaning of a proceed aspect on a tram signal is proceed if it is safe to do so. In this instance the driver was able to stop within the available visibility and no collision took place. No doubt the investigation will look a technical reasons why the points in question were incorrectly set and what the points indicator was displaying to the driver. Tramway signalling does not possess the same degree of interlocking as railway signalling, it is the responsibility of the driver to check whether any points are set correctly.
I’m guessing that the second sentence should read “The signals do NOT give absolute authority to proceed.”
You’re quite right Geoff. Apologies.