Compensation bid after tram chaos
FURIOUS MAYOR SLAMS METROLINK AND CALLS FOR ACTION AFTER ENTIRE NETWORK WAS BROUGHT TO STANDSTILL
PASSENGERS caught up in the Metrolink chaos that brought the network to a standstill could be in line for compensation after the region’s mayor demanded an investigation into the crisis.
Andy Burnham discussed reimbursing passengers during emergency talks with the operator after widespread disruption on Monday evening and yesterday morning.
Slamming ‘unclear communications’ from operator KeolisAmey during the disturbance, he said compensation might take the form of free travel.
Overhead line problems on two sections of the track damaged up to seven trams on Monday, suspending the Bury line, with more upset yesterday. Commuters were seen jumping off stricken trams to walk home along the tracks.
Mr Burnham said he expects a full investigation and an explanation – and has enquired about making future tram stock ‘more robust.’
He told the M.E.N: “We have discussed considering compensation over and above what would be the normal minimum for people affected on Monday. They are looking at that.”
Mr Burnham said the new contract signed last year gave ‘greater ability for Greater Manchester to levy penalties,’ adding: “If that is the case, that should be used for the benefit of passengers.
“More broadly, I would say the scenes we saw on Monday were not acceptable and I have said to KeolisAmey I believe much stronger plans need to be in place for the handling of events like that.
“I think the communications were not as clear as they should have been and people were stuck on trams without knowing what was happening. That isn’t good enough.”
Mr Burnham said the report into the incident should include root causes, actions taken to correct the problem and a plan to minimise the chance of it happening again.
There have been a number of technical faults since KeolisAmey took over the running of Metrolink last year. In May, there was a major software issue.
Mr Burnham said more needed to be done to ‘improve the resilience’ of the system, adding: “I don’t think at this stage it’s fair to blame the operator – they have said they take responsibility for what happened and will take all necessary steps to minimise any chance of a repeat.”
He said the network was ‘overall a pretty good service,’ that staff had worked ‘flat out’ to fix the problem – and that a full report was needed before ‘rushing to judgement.’
Mr Burnham said they would forge ahead with plans to order new trams as overcrowding ‘is a problem as well.’
Danny Vaughan, head of Metrolink for Transport for Greater Manchester, said: “Firstly, I’d like to apologise to our customers for the disruption to services and thank everyone for their patience. We are still investigating the cause of the issues we experienced and I once again apologise to anyone affected by these isolated incidents, which combined to make our passengers’ journeys very difficult.”
Aline Frantzen, managing director at KeolisAmey Metrolink (KAM), said: “We are sincerely sorry for the disruption on Metrolink services on Monday and yesterday.
“The disruption was caused by two separate incidents on the network where the overhead lines were damaged at Bury and Cornbrook, affecting a significant number of services.
“The overhead lines are inspected on a weekly basis and this type of incident is incredibly rare, but it does have a very significant impact on customers when they do occur. Repairs are now complete but investigations into the cause are ongoing. We are liaising closely with TfGM to look at what lessons can be learnt and how to reduce the risk of this happening again.”