This is not surprising. Many trams are travelling at breakneck speeds causing passengers to grab on to the nearest object to avoid falling over when the trams are breaking. As for low tram numbers, surely with the exhorbitant peak fares that are charged, Metrolink could afford to buy some new trams, therefore reducing the overcrowding that rush-hour commuters have to suffer on a daily basis.

Tom Baker

Crash happened at 6.30 a.m. - email alert to passengers didn't arrive until 8.07 a.m. - typically prompt and customer-friendly service from Metrolink...

Does anyone else see the irony in the fact that the tram involved was the one in the "get our metrolink back on track livery"?

Not much suprise there Mark i have to use the metrolink daily and i am flabbergasted that more trams dont derail. a lot are driven at speeds tantamount to lunacy i was on a tram that derailed in mcr city centre we were told to get off the tram given no information as to how or when we could get to piccadilly station and friend who travelled into mcr said 2 hrs later there were still no announcements about delays.
Metrolink operate solely for profits

'Get Back On Track', having a laugh aren't they. The Metrolink has never been on track. As the report says there are not enough trams as it is never mind expanding. When the trams do turn up at rush hour they are full to the brim. The old train system was better as I'm sure theye could hold more people. As for communicatioon it is awfull. I have now given up using the tram for work as they are always packed (making a very unpleasant journey) & that is if they actually turn up. Considering I live a 1 minute walk from Dane Road station & work in town that's a pretty sad state of affairs. Before they expand the netowrk they should try getting right what they have!!!!

How ironic that it was the "back on track" campaign tram that was derailed. This is just the latest indication that Metrolink's existing network needs to be greatly improved before any work on additional lines can be put in place. If they can't run what they already have what will it be like when the network doubles or trebles in size? As a person who uses the trams everyday, i'm fed up of paying in excess of B#80 per month to be constantly told that there are delays to the service due to "vehicle availability" in the morning and asked to disembark the vehicle at Timperley due to "operational requirements" on my way home in the evening. Don't get me wrong, the Metrolink service is one of the best in the country, and without it countless numbers of people would struggle to commute between Manchester and places like Altrincham, because lets face it you need to set off a day early to get to Manchester by bus and the trains are hardly reliable and rarely on time, but as it gets older it appears it is becoming less and less reliable. Are there any plans to make improvements in place or is it just going to be left to turn into the same farce that our privatised railways ended up in?

In response to the above comments, trams are not driven at"lunatic or breakneck speeds", i am a proffesional driver and take a pride in my driving standard, lets look at things from a drivers point of view for a change, how about when we are verbally abused, spat at or physically assaulted? how many of you get up to assist?..or what about when you decide to put your foot in the doors while your mate saunters off to buy a ticket?..therefore delaying the service a couple of vital minutes,..how many of you say anything?...or what about when some one decides to smoke on the tram, how many of you actually object to that person?...or are you one of those who bang on the cab window and demand i leave the cab and approach the smoker myself?.....it seems to me that some (not the majority) could help themselves and the rest of us by looking at their own habits and attitudes to the trams....oh i nearly forgot...the old chestnut.on busy football/event days..."why arent you running double units?..its a disgrace!"..."but sir we only have 32 trams, i assure you every one is out!"

The Metrolink service and customer service really is absolutley terrible. Unfortunately I have to use the tram everyday to get to and from work.

I am sick and tired of hearing "Metrolink would like to apologise for any delay this will cause to your journey" I HEAR THIS AT LEAST FOUR TIME PER WEEK!!!, I pay 45 pounds for my monthly ticket and find myself having to get a bus into the city centre. Manchester is a major european city and Mancunians deserve a public transport system that reflects this!

How about a drivers opinion being heard for a change?...i for one am sick of the abuse i suffer on a daily basis, spat at, sworn at, verbally and physically assaulted, i try to run my service to time but have to contend with people obstructing the doors, turning emergency door cocks, pressing emergency call buttons for a laugh, does the public ever intervene? no lets leave it to the driver, what about Mr smoker? lets not aproach HIM, but lets bang on the cab door and demand the driver do something, how about the public do some "self policing" and leave the driver to concentrate on trying to run punctually and concentrate on the driving..and as for "driving at lunatic speeds"..how dare you insult my safety and professional standards. another"i think i know what i am talking about" faceless critic.

The response from two metrolink employees typifies the overall attitude of metrolink staff. All inspectors are rude, the drivers consistently fail to inform passengers of the reason for delays. Ticket machines are unreliable, many of them fail to accept paper money and if the inspectors are on the loose don't expect them to help you if only have a ten pound note to pay the fare. The whole system needs an overhaul of its face to face customer service. Once thats sorted out, how about buying more trams and investing in London Underground-style ticket machines that actually accept your money.

Maybe a remedy for all this is cynicism is to introduce another operator therefore taking away Serco's monopoly on Manchester's tram network. That way customers will actually have a choice as to who they travel with.

In response to the "frustrated driver" why should we self police on public transport, if you as a driver don't feel safe driving the tram, how are we supposed to feel safe as passengers. Surely you're taking up issues of physical and verbal abuse with your employers and/or union rep(s) (if you are a member of a union). It is unfair to suggest that drivers should be responsible for telling people what not to do, but as an employee it is your responsibility to suggest to your superiors that improvements in security are made (i.e. a second person on the tram as a train style guard maybe). If you aren't happy in your work you should seek alternative employment if improvements aren't made. Suggesting that the honest fare paying passengers amongst us should help Metrolink / Serco staff to run their security is just wrong as it is an issue of internal affairs and not the publics responsibility.

I agree with the comments below in regards to the metrolink employees. I used the tram for five years commuting to town and found it frustrating, stressful and expensive. I do relate to the drivers comments above his/her safety issues, it is a shame that Metrolink does nothing about it. They should employ another person to help and support the driver. Now I drive to Manchester.

They're no good, are they? One de-railment and the whole system goes into meltdown! Trams are an outmoded, ancient, unreliable technology and the idea that we should all be forced out of our comfy, reliable and flexible cars onto these hopeless cattle-trucks is laughable.

People keep saying they aren't surprised the tram derailed because they are often driven at high speed, and then moan about them being delayed! Would you prefer them to chug along like some of the ancient bus relics we have travelling around this city?

This derailment had nothing to do with fast speeds, it happened between Piccadilly Gardens and the station, where the trams don't surpass 10mph.

How can one of the most used forms of public transport be so under funded that it cannot buy new replacements when it needs them. Whare is all the money going? Whose pockets are full when the system is crying out for investment?

When your next in Manchester centre take a look at the state of the track and the surrounding foundations.
I've noticed many places in dis-repair with support concrete/blocks subsiding.

I'm surprised it didn't happen much sooner.

Trams are not an outmoded form of transport, they are clearly NOT ancient, and for most they are preferable to being stuck in traffic 2hrs a day, and when more and more cars are banned from city centres they will be the main form of transport for many.

How many of those that have commented, could handle the abuse drivers get ...NONE of you.

Drivers and their unions have been campaigning for years for more security, but typical, private companys prefer profits before safety.

I'm rather concerned by some of the spokesperson's comments. It is claimed that 'no-one was in danger', but who can say? Surely the passengers and the driver were very much in danger when the tram came off its track and hit the post? And what if a mother pushing a pram had been crushed against the post? Next time my car leaves the road and demolishes someone's garden fence, I'' calmly tell the police 'there was no danger', and see how far I get.
Secondly, we are told that the tram travelled 30 feet before hitting the post - how fast was it going?
These glib statements don't cut much ice, I'm afraid.

this is not the first tram to de-rail and will not be the last, not too long ago a tram de-railed outside victoria after somebody placed some metro newspapers on the line and i have seen at least two derailed at the junction outside victoria after small incidents with vehicles on the road. trams are very easy to de-rail due to theire very nature, they are very light, this is the reason they can only travel at a maximum 50 mph any more and they could not stay on the track.as a professional train driver (heavy rail) i can agree with some of the coments made regarding speed though, i and my collegues have often commented on the lack of professionalism shown by some tram drivers who seem to think it is a priority to race trains up the bank from victoria and worse down the bank aproaching red signals at stupid speeds. this is even worse at navigation road station to altrincham where i have witnessed one tram aproach altrincham buffer stops at around 30 mph the industry standard is set at a maximum of 15 mph at the platform edge. these trams as far as i am aware do not have any of the safety devices fitted to heavy rail, ie, automatic warning system, or drivers reminder appliances, or overspeed sensors on aproach to signals and stations, drivers safety device, or train data recorders (black box) which records all actions carried out by the driver. these sytems have been fitted to heavy rail to enhance the safety of the train and its crew and passengers so why are trams not fitted ?. one comment i would like to make to the "frustrated" driver is, you and your collegues accepted driver only operation on your system, we stood by our union and stood firm against this method of working which we consider unsafe, a guard is most definately needed on any form of public transport and the drivers at metrolink have let down the public and the driving grade by allowing doo working, you have nothing to complain about since you brought it upon yourself. i drive my train safe in the knowledge that i have a collegue at the rear to help in any situation.

Scrap the toy town Tram - Bring back proper trains to the Altrincham and Bury Lines - Train travel in G Manchester is much cheaper, much more comfortable and more reliable and integrated with the National Rail network. The trains used to be every 15 mins - more in the peak, and had 4 times the capacity. Seeing as metrolink all too often only manage a tram every 12 minutes. Metrolink has been a success they say - easy to be a success when you steal both the most patronised rail lines in the county...

I was not suprised to read about this derailment, although I only use the metrolink on odd visits I have noticed the severe railwear that happens on the tight corners when leaving Piccadilly, The opperators should really consider re aligning the route to elminate these 90 degree bends ! But that would cost B#B#B#B#B#B#B#B#B#B#B#B#B#`s there by forcing the shareholders into poverty !
I have also been suprised by the fact that the line to Bury still has the rails that were present when the old 3rd rail units used to bounce along ! These should have been replaced YEARS AGO !! After all the usage is a damn site more than under BR even though these trams dont have much weight in them !
How come the HSE have not had a gentle word in SERCO`s ear and said "Come on chaps SPEND SOME MONEY ON MAINTAINANCE OR ELSE" ?

Trams are an excellent form of transport for in the city, but when they start using old heavy rail lines they are a waste of time, proper suburban trains can go upto 75mph (like the emu's the trams replaced on Bury & Alti) wheras trams can go at patheticly slow speeds, and when they get to the 'top speed' are terribly bouncy and a poor ride, so one does not feel safe usually when being jostled around! The state of the track in the city does look very shabby and worn and again not very comforting for users. Basically I think the original tram system in Manchester should never have been got rid of (1940's?) or even the eco-friendly trolleybusses are a step-forward that got withdrawn in the 1960's, Is this progress?

yesterday i and many others including a train driver who ended up being late to drive his train where led of a tram at the side of the road outside piccadilly station after enduring a 35 minuite trip from victoria to piccadilly, this can be walked in 15 minuites. we where told that a tram had once again broke down in front of us, the driver of the tram did his best and kept us adviced but this situation is becoming all too common on a system that is only 10 years old. as the previous reader has indicated i also think it is now high time that the council and serco realise that it was a huge mistake to try and replace proper trains and re-instated heavy rail to altrincham and bury, we would then have enough trams to do theire job as they where desighned, within the city center. from conversations on the tram it would appear that this is what most of the travelling public would prefer. but of course as with the get back on track campaighn the council and serco will only publish findings which agree with theire outdated views.

I am not surprised that the tram came off the tracks. Serco need to invest in more trams that are more sturdy and reliable like those found in Croydon and Sheffield.

Ticket machines always reject coins and need to be reaplced. Also needs to be an option of pay with debit card or some other option of pament such as a "top up" card.

Trams become full too soon in rush hour and people still try to push themselves on when there clearly isnt any room!!