Edinburgh Trams has been issued with safety advice following a fatal accident last year.
The company has been advised by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch to increase the sound of the warning horns on the trams and should consider measures to mitigate risks at places where audible warnings may be required.
The investigator found that the warning horn is not loud enough to meet current industry guidance, although at the time the trams were bought and put into service, no such requirements existed.
The trams used in Edinburgh do have two audible warning sounds a horn which is used for off-street sections and a bell used for on-street parts of the line.
The report above was produced by the BBC and made available to all members of the Local News Partnership scheme.
A man died at the scene of the accident while using a footpath crossing between Balgreen and Saughton tram stops on 11 September 2018 at 12.10pm. The crossing is a pathway between Stenhouse Drive and Saughton Mains Street over two tram tracks on an off-street section.
A spokeswoman for Edinburgh Trams said: “When Edinburgh Trams commenced passenger service in May 2014 we were satisfied that suitable and sufficient testing of the audible warning horn had been undertaken. We want to provide a safe tramway for our customers and take cognisance of the notice issued today by the RAIB. Further testing is already underway with modifications to the warning horn being implemented across the fleet.
“We continue to work with the RAIB and do not wish to predetermine the outcomes of their final report which is expected in the spring.”
The RAIB report states : “The tram driver had observed the pedestrian approaching the crossing and, in response, applied the service brake to reduce the tram’s speed as well as sounding repeated warnings using the tram’s bell. The pedestrian did not respond to these audible warnings and continued onto the crossing. Although the driver then operated the emergency brake (which automatically activated the warning horn) before arriving at the crossing, the tram was too close to be able to stop before reaching it. The tram’s speed at the time of the collision was approximately 50 km/h, and the maximum line speed in this section is 70 km/h.”
The RAIB is a British government agency that investigates rail accidents in the United Kingdom and the Channel Tunnel in order to find a cause, not to lay blame.
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