A young cyclist 'may have been unaware' of an oncoming tram before he was hit due to the 'unusual' positioning of a crossing, an investigation has concluded. The child, aged 11 at the time, was left with serious injuries following the collision on the evening of September 1 last year.
A Rail Accident Investigations Branch probe as now concluded. A report outlines the findings. The collision happened at a signal-controlled pedestrian crossing at the junction of Droylsden Road and Kershaw Lane.
There was a huge emergency services response just before 7.30pm. Droylsden Road was closed off. The boy was taken to hospital after suffering serious injuries.
The report said the child was waiting at a 'pedestrian refuge' - a crossing island - on Droylsden Road, but noted its 'unusual' positioning. Despite being located near the centre of the road, people still 'need to be aware traffic may approach from either direction' before choosing to cross, the report said.
The cyclist 'did not await' the puffin crossing indication that the road was safe to cross, but would have 'probably been focused on the eastbound road traffic' and therefore 'may have been unaware' of the westbound tram's approach when he stepped from the pedestrian refuge, investigators said.
The tram was travelling westbound, on a journey from Ashton-under-Lyne towards Manchester city centre. The report also outlined how the risk assessment processes applied during the design and construction of the east Manchester line 'did not identify' the hazard to pedestrians created by the crossings' layout.
Following the report, the RAIB made recommendations, including that TfGM and Tameside council should 'review' the layout of the crossing in light of the incident and that TfGM should also review its safety management system to identify hazards.
TfGM’s head of Metrolink, Danny Vaughan said that a review of the junction has been undertaken and that bosses are 'confident' it remains the strongest design option. An independent expert will be called in to examine the site to see if any improvements can be made. Tameside council chiefs added they will do 'all they can' to 'prevent a re-occurence of this terrible event'.
Mr Vaughan said: “This was a deeply upsetting incident that will have lasting consequences for the young boy involved and our thoughts remain very much with him and his family. Whilst light rail is a very safe mode of transport, when things do go wrong it is vitally important lessons are learnt from them. That is why we welcome the very thorough and detailed investigation carried out by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch.
“The road junction in question has been in use since 2013 and was one of dozens of busy junctions developed as part of the very successful expansion of Metrolink that has seen us treble in size to become the UK’s largest tram network. With large sections of on-street running, ensuring the safety of tram passengers and all other road users has been, and will continue to be, our priority.
“Since this incident we have undertaken a detailed review of the junction with Tameside Council and the Metrolink operator. We have assessed the layout of the junction against others and while we are confident it remains the safest design option, we will be asking an independent expert to examine the site to see whether any improvements can be made, in line with the RAIB recommendation.
“We will continue to work with the operator and other partners to review all other recommendations within the report, so that we can continue to maintain high standards of safety across the network.”
A Tameside council spokesperson added: "Tameside Council fully supports the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report into the accident near Audenshaw tram stop on 1 September, 2021. We are pleased it notes that we freely co-operated in the inquiry.
“From the outset, we wish to make it clear that our main concern is for the boy who was seriously hurt and our best wishes and thoughts go out to him and his family. We will do all we can to prevent a re-occurrence of this terrible event, and to that end Tameside Council fully supports and accepts the RAIB report and its findings.
“In line with its recommendations, we commit to working in partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) on a full and independently reviewed assessment of the crossing and its lay-out to identify any measures we can implement to reduce risk.”
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