Interim Rail Accident Investigation Branch report on crash that killed seven people says tram was well in excess of 12mph limit

A tram that derailed in Croydon, killing seven people, was travelling at more than three times the speed limit when it overturned on a sharp bend, according to investigators.

Data from the black box recorder showed that the tram was travelling at a speed of approximately 43mph when it entered the curve, having slowed only slightly and too late from the 50mph it was travelling at in a tunnel just before.

The interim report from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) says that there was no apparent defect in either the tram’s brakes or the track. It was dark and raining heavily at the time of the incident.

However, some expected evidence has not been available to investigators. Although the tram was fitted with forward-facing and internal CCTV cameras, the equipment was apparently not working at the time of the crash.

The RAIB said its investigations into what caused the tram to crash would continue, but it recommended that the speed limit zone should be extended and further signs put in place on the curve, in the meantime.

Six men and one woman were killed and 51 people were injured when the south London Tramlink tram crashed on 9 November.

The two-carriage tram was travelling in a 12mph speed limit zone as it exited the tunnel on to a sharp left turn just before the Sandilands tram stop.

The driver, Alfred Dorris, 42, from Beckenham, south-east London, was arrested and bailed on suspicion of manslaughter.



Transport for London has offered to meet the costs of funerals for the seven people killed and pledged to do everything it can to support the families and all those affected.

The passengers who died in the crash were Dane Chinnery, 19; Philip Seary, 57; Dorota Rynkiewicz, 35; Philip Logan, 52; and Robert Huxley, 63, all from New Addington; and Mark Smith, 35, and Donald Collett, 62, from Croydon.

Tram accidents on such a scale have been rare in Britain, with the last passenger death in a crash having occurred in 1959. But since the crash MPs have called for the RAIB to consider whether safety systems that exist on national rail and tube networks, such as automatic braking, should be implemented for trams or light rail too.

As well as the RAIB investigation into the causes of the crash, British Transport Police are conducting a criminal inquiry, while the regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, is examining whether there were any breaches of health and safety law.

Earlier, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, paid tribute at City Hall to emergency services who responded to the crash, and the generosity of Londoners in supporting families of the victims. He added: “A small but united community in Croydon has been rocked by this horrific incident and we must do all we can to support them, as they fully come to terms with what has taken place.”

He said that it was vital to learn lessons from the crash to ensure safety and “restore Londoners’ confidence” in the tram network.

Tfl said engineers had now repaired all track and other equipment and operated trams over the repaired section. London’s transport commissioner, Mike Brown, said: “We will follow the RAIB’s advice and, before service is resumed, will implement additional temporary speed restrictions and associated signage near Sandilands to supplement existing safety arrangements.

“We are continuing to carry out a thorough safety assessment and are taking the advice of an independent panel of tram experts. We will only resume services for the local community once that rigorous assurance process has been completed.”

Tramlink’s operator, FirstGroup, said it was “working with TfL to follow the RAIB’s advice and provide clear instruction on this to our drivers”.

The rail drivers’ union Aslef called for TfL to take over direct running of the service to put in place modern safety systems and implement any recommendations from the RAIB.

Finn Brennan, Aslef’s district organiser, said: ‘‘While individuals will be held accountable for their actions, it is clear that the lack of adequate safety systems were at the root of this dreadful accident.

“On the mainline railway, or London Underground, long established, tried and tested technology such as train protection warning system or automatic train protection is in place to ensure that a train traveling too quickly in a potentially dangerous area will be slowed and stopped. This technology is not in place on Tramlink. If it had been then this awful event could have been avoided.”

The tram network in south London runs for 17 miles, partly on streets and partly on the kind of segregated railway where the crash occurred. More than 27 million passengers travelled on Tramlink last year.

