ORR launches prosecutions relating to the fatal 2016 Croydon tram crash

THE OFFICE of Rail and Road announced in late March that it is prosecuting Transport for London, Tram Operations London, and tram driver Alfred Dorris for alleged breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 in relation to the fatal tram derailment on the London Trams network in 2016.

The derailment on the morning of November 9, 2016 saw Bombardier CR4000 tram 2551 derail at speed on the approach to Sandilands in Croydon, with the tram toppling over, killing seven passengers, and injuring many others travelling on board.

The ORR alleges that TFL and Tram Operations Limited – which runs the tram service on Tfl’s behalf – both failed to ensure the health and safety of passengers on the network, so far as reasonably practicable.

Mr Dorris has been accused of an alleged failure as an employee to take reasonable care of passengers while employed at work driving the tram. The ORR’S HM Chief Inspector of Railways Ian Prosser CBE said: “My thoughts are with the families of the seven people who lost their lives on November 9, 2016, the many more injured, and everyone whose lives have been impacted as a result of this incident.

“Following a detailed and thorough investigation, we have taken the decision to prosecute Transport for London, Tram Operations Limited, and driver Alfred Dorris for what we believe to be health and safety failings. “We have made a fair, independent and objective assessment about what happened, and it is now for the court to consider if any health and safety law has been breached.”

A hearing is due to be held at Croydon Magistrates’ Court at a later date, still to be announced as this issue of Railways Illustrated was being prepared.

John Vaughan Hanwell station, just over seven miles west of London Paddington, opened in 1838. It was renamed Hanwell & Elthorne in 1896 before reverting to Hanwell in 1974, although a couple of large running-in boards with the old name have been preserved and are in situ. The station has undergone a sympathetic restoration and received an award from the Ealing Civic Society in 2021. Passing through the attractive station on April 11, 2022, is Freightliner’s 66413 Lest We Forget, which was heading the 12.41 Acton Yard to Merehead Quarry empty wagons.