The Health and Safety at Work Inspectorate on the Isle of Man have ordered all service on the Snaefell Mountain Railway to be suspended in light of last week\u2019s overrun incident on the line. Services had been running on the line \u2013 although at reduced frequencies \u2013 since the incident on Friday 4th August but after some trams failed to comply with the reduced speed which had been imposed the decision was made to stop all services until further notice.<\/p>\n
It has now been confirmed that the car involved was no. 2 and as we reported last week it suffered a brake failure on the approach to Bungalow which caused it to overrun the stop crossing the road before the fell brake was used to bring it to a halt. Since the original statement was released by Isle of Man Transport reports in the local media have suggested that the incident was downplayed and that no. 2 travelled for a longer distance than suggested at a higher speed than usual.<\/p>\n
An investigation was immediately launched into the brake failure but services did resume the following day. However the full timetable has not been operating with only a selected few public services running on each day.<\/p>\n
The Health and Safety at Work Inspectorate imposed a reduced 8mph speed limit on the Snaefell Mountain Railway (instead of the usual 12mph) as part of the initial investigation but as part of a monitoring compliance it was found that some trams were failing to adhere to this speed limit. As a result the decision was taken late on Thursday 10th August to suspend all operations on the line.<\/p>\n
The full statement from the Health and Safety at Work Inspectorate reads: \u201cFollowing an incident on the Snaefell Mountain Railway on the afternoon of Friday, August 4, 2017 and an urgent post incident review, a reduced speed limit of 8 miles per hour was introduced to facilitate the safe continuation of operations while the control system installed in the trams was examined. Normal line speed is 12mph. Monitoring of compliance with the reduced operating speed has, however, identified some failures to comply with this, and an immediate halt of operations on the Snaefell Mountain Railway has been applied by the Health and Safety at Work Inspectorate. The prohibition will be lifted when the Snaefell Mountain Railway can demonstrate effective measures for ensuring compliance with the 8 mph speed limit. There will be no further comment from any party until the HSWI investigation is complete.”<\/p>\n
Before any recriminations and accusations are levelled on the causes of this incident the most important thing now is that the investigation is completed thoroughly and that full confidence is restored in the historic service from Laxey to Snaefell Summit to allow a full resumption of operations.<\/p>\n
* The full eyewitness report from the tram can be read at http:\/\/www.iomtoday.co.im\/article.cfm?id=35298&headline=%22We%20were%20in%20plane%20crash%20mode%22§ionIs=NEWS&searchyear=2017<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Health and Safety at Work Inspectorate on the Isle of Man have ordered all service on the Snaefell Mountain Railway to be suspended in light of last week\u2019s overrun incident on the line. Services had been running on the … Continue reading