City centre tram chaos

June 30, 2008

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COMMUTERS were hit with city centre chaos today after a derailed tram blocked two major lines and roadworks closed a key route.

Three people were injured after the tram came off the rails at Princess Street last night and slammed into two lamposts.

It couldn't be moved due to investigators carrying out a detailed study of the scene, causing massive disruption today.

Nearby roads were closed and the traffic problems were made worse by work on Quay Street by United Utilities

The two-carriage Metrolink service was carrying 300 passengers from the Radiohead concert at the Old Trafford cricket ground when it crashed.

Three male passengers received minor injuries to their back and necks and were treated at Manchester Royal Infirmary.

Passenger Samantha Hemingfield, 29, from Gorton, said passengers were `packed like sardines' inside the tram.

She said: "It was much busier than at rush hour - we were really squeezed in.

Grinding

"We heard a noise like a grinding but we kept moving for a bit before we stopped. It was really quite frightening. It did seem to be going quite fast at a bend for a tram so full."

Metrolink said that the service between Old Trafford and Piccadilly had been running later than usual to cater for the 53,000-crowd attending the concert.

A spokeswoman said: "Our engineers are on site at the moment and are working with independent experts to try to discover how the accident happened.

"Because the scene must be left undisturbed we will only be able to move the tram when they've finished their survey." Services from Eccles were cancelled this morning, with a bus replacement service carrying thousands of passengers. Services on the Altrincham line were terminating at the G-Mex. The Bury line was unaffected.

Roads around the site of the tram derailment were closed sending drivers trying to find alternative routes.

To relieve the traffic problems, police put a number of road diversions in place and also switched off automatic bollards at Cross Street, which are designed to allow only public transport during peak time.

Motorists reported being stuck in stationary traffic for up to 45 minutes in both the Quay Street and Princess Street areas.

What do you think? Have your say.

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MsD, Manchester (30/06/2008 at 08:12)

That must have terrifeid the passengers and I am glad they are OK.
But is this the safe alternative transport to the car in Manchester ? There seems to be problems with the Metrolink on a weekly basis.

JimC (30/06/2008 at 08:34)

And they want to bring in congestion tax. Amazing.

Tezza, Tyldesley (30/06/2008 at 08:34)

Just wait 5 years and then there will be 100 people on board, I think we need the £3bn now.

Ministry of Truth Spokesman (formerly MC Spanner) (30/06/2008 at 08:39)

Cancel the tram expansion and put the money into decent park and ride schemes.

Too expensive

Unreliable

Causes chaos when it breaks down

JONATHAN FARRIMOND (30/06/2008 at 08:45)

I was on this tram, 30 people!!!

More like 150, crammed on like sardines coming back from the radiohead gig. Wouldn't be surprised if it was overcrowding that caused the tram to derail.

Audenshaw Bob (30/06/2008 at 08:48)

30 passengers, one taken to hospital. What if all 30 had gone to hospital, how often do you get car accidents where so many are in danger?

I went on the Metrolink four times over the weekend. What I din't realise was that you don't have to pay, could drink alcolhol, could take bicylcles on it, could smoke. I paid all four trips, but it seems other passengers didn't and from their conversations they don't ever.

It was also nice to have youths pulling to pieces the advertising signs at the G Mex stop and alos wrestling with each other and putting on a display of martial arts moves whilst also name calling by standers.

I really don't know why I ever bought a car when I can get all this.

David Mason (30/06/2008 at 08:55)

I think it's amazingly helpful for commuters that the Metrolink website (http://www.metrolink.co.uk/) shows the service status as "Normal service running."

(DAVE GODDARD FOR LEADER OF MANC) paul teeque (30/06/2008 at 09:00)

Trams just arn't safe

Samantha Whittaker (30/06/2008 at 09:06)

I was on the tram- I think you'll find that the tram had about 3 HUNDRED passengers on it- we were coming back from radiohead and it was a double carriage serious over crowded

a.walker, Manchester (30/06/2008 at 09:14)

Yes, I agree. There are always problems with the trams, especially the eccles line. Someone started a petition in 2005 but the service has not improved.
http://www.petitiononline.com/eccles/petition.html

The fares are really expensive, compared to the service provided. Though, I am glad the passengers are not hurt.

Jay B, oldham (30/06/2008 at 09:20)

ah yes! and we'll be expected to rely on this sort of reliable public transport even more if the con charge come in wont we?
i personally dont want to.
i was let down on sat night yet again. the train i needed to catch was cancelled due to staff shortages. luckily there was the last one to catch 40 mins later but no extra carriages where put on so it was a squeeze on their as you can imagine.
no money from a TIF would be spent on the areas that affected this. this is the resposibilty of the train operators. why isn't local and national governments forcing them to improve. if anything the trains have got worse in recent years.

bluetony (30/06/2008 at 09:28)

Does that mean that Metrolonk is CONgested this morning?

Better scrap it then, or at least charge everyone a Metrolink tax. That should solve the problem!

tram user, manchester (30/06/2008 at 09:52)

Sign the petition to improve the manchester trams:

http://www.petitiononline.com/eccles/petition.html

Kalamity Karney [AKA Scrotnig], Gorton (30/06/2008 at 09:53)

Don't worry everyone, it'll all be ok, because WHEN the congestion charge comes in this sort of accident and disruption won't happen.

I know this to be a FACT because Cllr Sir Leese told me.

Black Flag (30/06/2008 at 09:58)

MC Spanner: "Cancel the tram expansion and put the money into decent park and ride schemes"

The first bit I agree with, the second part, definitely not. Park and ride schemes should be avoided at all costs; they are a waste of land and they are based on the bizarre principle that the way to reduce car use is to provide more facilities for car use.

The best way to deal with the Metrolink would be to rip the tracks up, tarmac the routes and turn them into express bus routes.

The result would be cheaper travel, breakdowns would be easier to deal with and there would be more flexibility, as buses could start on the roads in outlying areas and join the bus route for the rest of the journey.

sledge (30/06/2008 at 10:02)

1 tram derailed and Manchester is in chaos, I know, lets all use public transport

Defiant, salford (30/06/2008 at 10:10)

This is one of the major problems with the tram system. They should have just designed these routes with bendy buses and if one brakes down you just move it out of the way, with that system you'd also have a much comfier ride. The cost of a system like that would also be much cheaper so the network would more than likely be double in size by now!

http://www.scottishelectrictransit.org.uk/clean_green_electric_machine_thats_alternative_trams

citycentre, manchester (30/06/2008 at 10:14)

The tram system does seem prone to break down, and very vulnerable, in that any mishap anywhere casues almost complete collapse.

At least if a bus breaks down it can easily be replaced by another one and it wont casue all other buses to fail.

BlackFlag: however many buses there are there cant be enough to go past everyones house at the time they need it; letting people collect at central set points, either by walking, cycling or driving then busing them into city centers seems sensible enough to me

ace, manchester (30/06/2008 at 10:29)

THE Metrolink system was plunged into chaos ?
SOUNDS FAMILIAR.

Black Flag (30/06/2008 at 10:41)

citycentre, it's perfectly possible to have a frequent bus service within reasonable walking distance of the vast majority of people. If a particular area is badly served, it will down to the fact that there aren't enough users to support the route, which can be caused, in part, by people choosing to drive into a city centre.

Park and ride is part of the problem, not a solution. We should be going the other way by reducing the availability of on street parking and making it easy to obtain planning permission to build on land currently used as a car park. Less parking space would mean more bus use, resulting in more buses being provided.

Ministry of Truth Spokesman (formerly MC Spanner) (30/06/2008 at 11:06)

BF,

"The best way to deal with the Metrolink would be to rip the tracks up, tarmac the routes and turn them into express bus routes"

And the best way to fill hte bus routes and eleiminate cars in Central Manchester is to ensure that those who drive from Outside the M60 do not feel the urge to drive in.

They are a waste of land if you do not build multi-stories. For each multi-story that is built outside Manchester, surely it would empty one inside Manchester.

It's not about eliminating car use, it's about reducing it and targeting away from congested areas.

ace, manchester (30/06/2008 at 11:19)

Wheres the fat controller???

Caped Crusader, Gotham City (30/06/2008 at 11:22)

So this badly planned and designed, expensive, unreliable, white elephant is the answer to all our public transport problems?

Yeah right.

brian green (30/06/2008 at 11:25)

This surely demonstrates the total inadequacies of a tram system.
The best thing to happen in Manchester would be to open up Deansgate, around the House of Fraser store, make it a red route to stop any parking. and to build more cheap parking facilities.
If the congestion charging goes ahead it will be a tax on the poor - look what happened omn the M6 toll it started at £2 a journey it is noe £4.50, in London their charge started at £5 now it is £8 - the last thing we should do is give local politicians access to a money raising scheme.

Black Flag (30/06/2008 at 11:29)

MC Spanner: "And the best way to fill hte bus routes and eleiminate cars in Central Manchester is to ensure that those who drive from Outside the M60 do not feel the urge to drive in."

Which is best achieved by effectively pricing car use. A congestion charge would do that, although I wouldn't support it. Increasing fuel duty is a far more efficient way to achieve the same objective. Tinkering with the supply side of the equation is a far less effective way of getting the job done.

"They are a waste of land if you do not build multi-stories. For each multi-story that is built outside Manchester, surely it would empty one inside Manchester."

I don't think so. If you built a car park space outside the city centre for every space inside the city centre, your theory would say that all the car parks in the city centre would be completely empty. I don't think that is a realistic prospect.

"It's not about eliminating car use, it's about reducing it and targeting away from congested areas."

Park and ride encourages car use. If the aim is to reduce car use, a solution which requires car use to achieve that aim is clearly not optimal. Focusing car movements into park and ride car parks will also create congestion in those areas.

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