List of tram accidents

This is a worldwide list of accidents involving trams (or streetcars in U.S English) in which there was significant damage to the tramcar, or involving severe injury or death to those in the tramcar. Pedestrian fatalities are outside the scope of this list.

Argentina

Australia

  • On 28 September 1913, a Rockhampton steam tram and its trailer capsized on a sharp bend while returning from the Rockhampton Botanic Gardens resulting in three fatalities. One man died instantly, while two women later died from their injuries in hospital.[6][7][8]
  • On 21 August 1924, a coupled set of Sydney tram E-class cars ran out of control near McMahon's Point, derailed and crashed into a house. There were two fatalities, and the trams were extensively damaged.[9]

Austria

  • On 2 August 1960, a tram ran away in Vienna, Austria and collided with another on a crossroads. Eighteen people were killed and 104 were injured.[10]

Brazil

Canada

Croatia

Czech Republic

  • On 11 April 2008, two Ostrava trams crashed in a head-on collision in a single-track section of the Ostrava-Poruba - Kyjovice-Budišovice tram line near Vřesina. Three people were killed and 66 were injured. The tram driver of one of the trams, who ignored a stop signal, was later sentenced to three years in prison for reckless driving.[16][17]

Germany

  • On 17 December 1960, a Convair C-131D Samaritan airplane crashed into the city of Munich and struck a tram and people on the street. The tram's trailer burnt out, and all of its occupants died at the accident site or in hospitals. All 20 persons in the airplane and 32 on the ground were killed.[18][19]
  • On 23 August 1999, a "CitySprinter" prototype tram under evaluation by Cologne Stadtbahn (KVB) ran into the rear of another at Christophstrasse Station, an underground station. Seventy people were injured, seven seriously. The accident was initiated by the failure of the vehicle's electronics, thus blocking control over the brakes, and the passengers' emergency brake was inhibited, as required by safety regulations for tunnels. But the driver missed the opportunity to use a separate emergency halt button. KVB then decided to buy "Bombardier Flexity Swift" trams instead.[20][21]
  • In 2014, a Düsseldorf tram derailed and overturned at a junction. Several people were injured.[22]
  • On 15 March 2018 A collision between two trams in Cologne injures 43 people. The driver of one of the trams is suspected to have been driving under the influence of alcohol. [23]

Hong Kong

  • In 2013 a Hong Kong tram was derailed after attempting to take a bend too fast. Seventy-seven people were injured.[22]
  • On 6 April 2017, Hong Kong tram № 123 was in an accident on Des Voeux Road. It was reported to have been travelling too fast and to have collided with a bus and overturned on a bend. Fourteen people were injured. The driver was consequently jailed for eleven months and disqualified from driving any vehicle for two years.[24][25]

Isle of Man

Italy

  • On 23 September 1890 a number of tram cars left the track between Florence and Fiesole, five passengers were killed.[28]

Netherlands

  • On 2 September 2018, a RET tram ran into the rear of another tram on Dwarsdijk, Rotterdam, injuring nine people.[29]

Norway

Oslo.

Poland

  • On 7 December 1967, a heavily loaded tram in Szczecin, Poland, consisting of one power car and two trailers, ran away down hill and derailed on a bend after the dynamic brakes failed. The accident killed 15 people and injured around 150, 40 of them seriously.[30]
  • In Poznań on September 8, 1993 the motorman of tram No. 10 mistook which route the line was set for and went off the track. The tram fell on its side and then hit the wall of a building. Five people were killed and sixty wounded, the driver was sentenced to three years in prison.[31]

Spain

Sweden

  • On 12 March 1992, driverless Gothenburg tram No. 245 lost its electric power at Kapellplatsen and hurtled backwards down a hill at more than 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph), before colliding with another tram and derailing at Vasaplatsen. Thirteen people were killed and around 30 were injured.[33]

Switzerland

  • On 15 January 1926 a tram was derailed by snow near Zug, with the death of three passengers.[34]
  • On 10 November 1966, a tram derailed in Zürich, Switzerland and crashed into a building. A passenger was killed and 71 were injured.[35]

Ukraine

United Kingdom

1880s

  • On 7 August 1882, a Blackburn and Over Darwen Tramways Company tram ran away, derailed and overturned at Ewood Bridge, Blackburn. One person was killed and 30 were injured.[37]
  • On 3 July 1883, a Huddersfield Corporation Tramways steam tram engine and trailer ran away downhill and derailed at the junction of Westgate and Railway Street. Seven people were killed and twenty were injured.[38][39]
  • On 29 December 1883, a tram ran away downhill on the Wigan and Pemberton Tramway after the driver had left the tram to snatch a child from danger that was in front of the tram. The tram hit another tram killing one of the passengers.[40]
  • On 12 September 1885, a Bradford and Sheffield Tramways tram ran away downhill from the Wibsey Bank Foot depot in Bradford after being steamed up, it hit and killed a pedestrian and a man driving a horse-drawn vehicle .[41]

1890s

  • On 19 September 1898, a Bradford City Tramways tram ran away on Horton Bank, derailed and crashed. One person was killed, fourteen were seriously injured.[42]

1900s

  • On 9 June 1905, Huddersfield Corporation Tramways tram No. 67 ran away, derailed and crashed. One person was killed.[43]:p32
  • On 1 June 1906, Swindon Corporation Tramways tram No. 11 ran away on Victora Road and overturned. Five people were killed, 30 were injured.[43]:p57
  • On 23 June 1906, Metropolitan Electric Tramways tram No. 115 ran away in Archway Road, crashed into five other vehicles and another tram. Three people were killed, twenty were injured.[43]:p35
  • On 1 July 1906, Halifax Corporation Tramways tram No. 94 ran away down New Bank, derailed and overturned. Two people were killed, eleven were injured.[43]:p30
  • On 1 April 1907, South Metropolitan Electric Tramways tram No. 19 ran away, derailed and overturned in Wallington. Two people were killed, 36 were injured.[43]:p60
  • On 31 July 1907, Bradford City Tramways tram No. 210 derailed in Church Bank due to a fractured axle. Two people were killed and sixteen were injured.[43]:p14
Birmingham.

1910s

Crabble, Dover
  • On 19 August 1917, Dover Corporation Tramways tram No. 23 ran away down Crabble Hill, derailed and overturned. Eleven people were killed and sixty were injured. This was the deadliest tram accident in the United Kingdom.[43]:pp22-23[46]
  • On 1 February 1918, Bradford City Tramways tram No. 88 derailed and overturned in Chapel Lane, Allerton. One person was killed and nineteen were injured.[43]:p15
  • On 5 December 1918, Glasgow Corporation Tramways Car No. 157 derailed and overturned in Victoria Road opposite Queen's Park Gate, when it left the rails and overturned. Three people were killed and fifty six were injured.[47]
  • On 8 October 1919, Burton and Ashby Light Railway tram No. 19 ran away backwards in Bearwood Hill Road and was derailed. Two people were killed, sixteen were injured.[43]:p18

1920s

  • On 21 December 1923, a lorry collided with Barnsley and District Tramway tram No. 10, which ran away backwards and derailed at Lane Head. Two people were killed, seven were injured.[43]:p17
  • In 1926, a tram ran away downhill and crashed in Bridge Street, Darwen. Two people were killed.[48]

1930s

  • On 12 April 1930, a Glasgow Corporation Tramways tram derailed and overturned at the junction to Dunbarton Road and Crow Road. Two passengers were killed and around 60 were injured, eighteen seriously.[49][50]
  • On 23 August 1932, Great Orme Tramway tram No. 4 derailed and hit a wall. The driver and a passenger were killed, ten passengers were seriously injured.[51]
  • On 3 July 1933, a Bath Tramways Company tram ran away backwards on Wells Road and crashed into another tram. A passenger was killed and fifteen were injured.[52]
  • On 2 January 1934, a Liverpool Corporation Tramways tram ran away down a hill, derailed and overturned in Crown Street. One person was killed and 35 injured, several seriously.[53][54]
  • On 25 March 1934, a London tram derailed and overturned on a curve in Eltham due to excessive speed. Four people were injured.[54]

1950s

1990s

  • On 12 August 1996, a lorry collided with a Manchester Metrolink tram at the junction of Corporation Street and Miller Street. Sixteen people were injured, one seriously.[58]

2000s

  • On 19 December 2006, trams 09 and 10 of the Midland Metro collided in Winson Green, injuring a group of people while en route to the Metro's then Birmingham Snow Hill terminus. [59][60]

2010s

Sandilands.

United States

Tacoma, Washington.
  • On 4 July 1900, an overcrowded Tacoma Railway & Power tram car derailed and plunged into a ravine in Tacoma, Washington. The accident killed 43 people and left 65 others injured.[65]
  • On 7 November 1916, Boston Elevated Railway Co. streetcar No. 393 smashed through the warning gates of the open Summer Street drawbridge in Boston, Massachusetts, plunging into the frigid waters of Fort Point Channel, killing 46 people.[66]
  • On December 24, 1917, a Pittsburgh Railways streetcar ran away downhill in the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel after becoming detached from the wire and derailed and overturned on a curve.[67] The car slid on its side until hitting a telegraph pole which ripped the roof off. Twenty-one people were killed and 80 were injured.[68][69]
  • On 14 November 1944, two Pittsburgh Railways streetcars collided in a heavy fog, killing five people and injuring thirty-five.[68]
  • On 25 May 1950, a petrol tanker collided with a streetcar in Chicago, Illinois, creating a fire which destroyed five buildings.[70] A total of 34 people were killed on the tramcar and another 50 left injured, either on the tram or in the surrounding area.[71][72]
  • On 10 February 1978, a Pittsburgh Railways streetcar was in a head-on collision with a bus near the Palm Garden Bridge. Four people were killed and 28 were injured.[73]
  • On October 29, 1987, a Pittsburgh Light Rail 1700-series PCC car was going downhill through Mount Washington Transit Tunnel when its brakes failed. The driver ordered the passengers to the back of the trolley as it picked up speed. The streetcar sideswiped a city bus and a truck, ripped out a utility pole and fire hydrant then ran into a six-story, brick office building. Thirty-seven people were injured, four seriously, but there were no fatalities. All three braking systems on the car had failed: the drum, track and dynamic rail brakes.[74][75]

Zimbabwe

  • On 7 July 2014 a freight train hit a tram at Victoria Falls Railway Station, Zimbabwe which was attempting to move off the main line, killing 1 person and injuring at least a dozen others.[76]

References

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