Report 40/2007: Incident at Wellesley Road
Passenger incident at Wellesley Road, Croydon Tramlink, 15 June 2007.
On 15 June 2007 at about 3.50pm, a man attempted to board an eastbound tram at the Wellesley Road stop on the Croydon Tramlink. His hand or clothing appeared to have been trapped in tram doors, and when it moved off he had to run alongside it for about 15 metres before he could move away.
The tram stopped before it was clear of the platform. The man received no apparent injury and left the scene; he has not been traced.
The cause of the accident was that neither the tram driver nor the instructor reacted to the presence of the man with his hand or clothing apparently stuck between the tram doors as it moved off.
The perception of a split of responsibility between the driver and the instructor may have contributed to the lack of a final check on the platform before the tram moved off.
RAIB has not made any recommendations in relation to this incident, but the tram operator, Tram Operations Ltd, has briefed staff on the correct procedure for moving away from tram stops.