Melbourne tram crash injures car driver

September 3, 2005 - 8:38PM

A driver has been taken to hospital with serious injuries after his car and a tram collided in Melbourne today.

Firefighters were called to the crash at Southbank shortly after 11.30am (AEST) and cut off a car door to free the driver.

Ambulance spokesman James Howe said the man, aged in his 30s, was taken to The Alfred hospital with a fractured collarbone.

No-one on the tram was injured, he said.

AAP

Calls for inquiry after another Melbourne tram crash

Posted Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:23am AEST Updated Tue Oct 23, 2007 10:21am AEST

(ABC News: Timothy Marshall)

Hundreds of peak hour passengers travelled to work by replacement bus as a result of the tram crash

Six passengers have been taken to hospital in Melbourne after the third tram crash in the city in less than a month.

One tram ran into the back of another at the intersection of Flemington and Racecourse roads in North Melbourne about 5:40am.

Almost 30 people have been injured in tram crashes in the past month.

Liberals public transport spokesman Terry Mulder says an external inquiry is needed.

"Minister [Lynne] Kosky has to act and has to act now," he said.

"People who travel on the tram are soley dependent on either the maintenance and upkeep of the vehicles or the vigilance of the driver, and if any of those fail they will be injured."

Mr Mulder says something is critically wrong with the safety systems on trams.

"They (passengers) don't have airbags, they don't have seatbelts, alot of them are just standing free in the aisle ways" he said.

Yarra Trams spokesman Colin Tyrus says it is too early to say why the accident happened.

"Obviously we want to ensure that we get to the cause of these accidents rather than engaging in speculation," he said. View source ->>>-

Trams crash in city

The Age
Sarah-Jane Collins October 16, 2007 - 9:30AM

Melbourne commuters are facing long delays following a horror  morning, with three separate incidents involving trains and trams.

One person was struck and killed by a train at Sandown Park and another escaped serious injury when her car was hit on a level crossing in Carnegie. Meanwhile, two trams collided on St Kilda Road outside the Arts Centre, causing delays and injuring three passengers and a driver.

Commuters on the Pakenham-Cranbourne line will face the bulk of the delays following the incidents at Sandown Park and Carnegie.

Early this morning a person was struck and killed by a train at Sandown Park station and just before 9am a car was struck by a train on a level crossing at Grange Road in Carnegie.

"A car hit a train at the level crossing, it's blocking the level crossing and the trains have to stop," a Connex spokeswoman said.

"People on the Pakenham-Cranbourne lines this morning will be experiencing significant delays and it will be very crowded," she said.

The driver of the car, a 72-year-old woman, was not harmed and police said the train hit the passenger side of the car at a low speed.

"The member out at the scene said he could have done more damage with his foot. The train driver had obviously seen what was happening and had pretty much come to a stop," a police spokeswoman said.

Yarra Trams is investigating what caused this morning's tram collision on St Kilda Road, the second in less then a month.

Yarra Trams spokesman, Colin Tyrus, said the accident was very minor and only a few passengers had suffered injuries.

"Only three people suffered minor injuries, but they've been taken to hospital," he said.

The trams involved in the accident were a number eight to Toorak and a number 67 to Carnegie.

"They were southbound on St Kilda Road. I understand that there were about 20 people on the two trams, obviously some of the injuries were caused when one of the trams stopped suddenly, some of the people fell forward."

He said tram services had been disrupted for about 40 minutes, but were now returning to normal.

"All other tram routes that head down St Kilda Road were diverted via La Trobe Street but they're now returning to normal.

"The trams are being removed, or have been driven away from the scene under their own power. They suffered very minor damage."

Mr Tyrus said the trams involved in the accident were an older style of tram to the ones involved in a collision on St Kilda Road earlier this year. "These were older style, what they call Z class trams, not the same kind." View source ->>>-

Doors fly open on trams

Adelaide Now January 13, 2008 12:10am
RENATO CASTELLO

ADELAIDE'S new $60 million tram fleet is beset by problems with faulty doors, TransAdelaide documents reveal.

Tram drivers are reporting faults at least twice a week on services between Glenelg and the city, with doors opening mid-journey or failing to open or close.

Four of the 11-strong fleet, each bought for $5.5 million in 2005 and 2006, had to be pulled from service for urgent repairs last year.

Reports of tram door faults rose after the German-made Bombardier Flexity fleet came into service.

In 2006, 89 door faults were recorded, 79 of which involved the new trams, while in 2007 the Flexity fleet accounted for 178 of 181 door faults. By contrast, in 2005 when the 78-year-old heritage trams were the workhorse of the tramline, just 77 door faults were recorded.

But TransAdelaide general manager Bill Watson said the problems with the new trams were not faults but "system glitches", the majority caused by people inadvertently preventing doors from closing.

The most trouble-plagued tram in the new fleet, No. 108, had 39 separate reported problems with its doors and was withdrawn from service twice last year for repairs.

The findings were revealed in a comprehensive list of incidents and accidents on Adelaide's rail and tram network over the past four years. The documents, obtained by the Sunday Mail under Freedom of Information, show:

ASSAULTS are on the increase.

NEAR-MISSES between vehicles and pedestrians occur daily.

THERE WERE five derailments last year compared with one in 2006.

A COLLISION occurs almost every week on train and tram tracks. View the complete article here ->>>-