Manchester Metrolink tram operators 'must improve' after platform fall

The 46-year-old, who has impaired mobility, suffered facial injuries when he fell from the platform

Tram operators must improve guidance to drivers about using CCTV when departing stops after a passenger fell from a platform on to tracks, a report said.

A man with impaired mobility suffered facial injuries in March when a tram he was leaning on left the Ashton-under-Lyne stop in Greater Manchester.

A Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) probe said Keolis Amey Metrolink should improve visibility at stops too.

Transport for Greater Manchester said it was working on the recommendations.

Keolis Amey Metrolink (KAM) has been responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Metrolink system - which is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) - since July 2017.

The 46-year-old man, who had difficulty standing unaided, fell when the tram pulled away at 22:55 GMT on 12 March.

He was spotted on the tracks by the driver of the next tram arriving at the stop, the RAIB said.

The man fell at Ashton-under-Lyne on 12 March

He had fallen from a bench at New Islington tram stop less than an hour and a half earlier, the report said.

Paramedics attended but he declined medical treatment and they helped him on a tram to Ashton-under-Lyne.

Drivers need guidance on using CCTV monitors when departing tram stops, the RAIB says

The RAIB found KAM had not given drivers instructions on the use of side-view CCTV monitors as trams departing from stops.

As well as improving guidance to drivers on the use of monitors, the RAIB also recommended improving the visibility of passengers at tram stops especially at night.

It also said it should review guidance given to staff who may encounter passengers with impaired mobility.

It made a fourth recommendation calling for KAM and North West Ambulance Service to jointly develop a communications protocol so that KAM is informed of any actions of the ambulance service relevant to tram operations.

TfGM's head of Metrolink, Danny Vaughan, said: "The safety and welfare of our passengers is vitally important, particularly those who are vulnerable or in a vulnerable state.

"[We] have already taken and will continue to take action with the operator to implement some of the recommendations made."