Rail accident investigators have called for new anti-drag technology on Luas trams after a series of incidents where passengers were dragged along station platforms after they or their belongings got caught in doors.
A safety advice notice has been issued by the Railway Accident Investigation Unit (RAIU) after four “trap-and-drag” incidents between April and June this year.
The RAIU said there was a risk of injuries or fatalities to passengers from being dragged along with a tram.
In an incident at the Stillorgan stop in south Dublin on the Luas Green Line on May 15th, a teenage girl sustained a deep laceration to her face and grazing to her knees and hands after her coat became trapped as the doors closed before she boarded the tram.
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The girl ran alongside the tram on the platform before managing to release her coat and falling to the ground without the driver becoming aware of what happened.
Passengers on the platform contacted emergency services and the girl was brought to hospital by ambulance for treatment for her injuries.
In another incident, a man had one of his fingertips trapped between the doors while trying to board a tram at Heuston Station on April 21st.
The passenger ran alongside the Luas before the driver became aware of the commotion and stopped the tram. The man was uninjured.
On June 17th, a dog on a lead boarded a tram at the Hospital stop in Tallaght on the Red Line but its owner did not manage to get on before the doors closed.
The woman, who had the lead wrapped around her wrist, was dragged alongside the tram before eventually freeing herself and falling on to the platform.
The driver stopped the tram after hearing passengers shouting.
The dog owner sustained minor cuts but declined medical attention, and the dog was uninjured.
In another incident at the Busáras stop on May 29th, two passengers got their bag trapped as they ran towards the tram as the doors were closing.
The driver stopped the tram after being alerted by passengers on board to the passengers still holding on to their bag.
Investigators examined the door-closing sequence on Luas trams, the obstacle-detection system, the information available to tram drivers and the public’s awareness of how tram doors operate.
The RAIU found that Luas trams use technology that detect obstacles if there is a 10mm gap between doors when they close.
However, all four incidents involved obstructions that were less than 10mm wide, so the doors were able to close and lock.
“Enhanced obstacle detection and dedicated drag-detection technologies, if installed, would likely have prevented the incidents,” the RAIU said.
It claimed information stickers located on the doors of trams to inform passengers to stand clear when they are closing were “not sufficiently effective”.
The RAIU noted research carried out last year found there was widespread misunderstanding of how tram doors work.
Investigators said many passengers acted in risky ways without knowing the full extent of the risk because they believed tram doors behaved like doors on lifts or in shops.
The RAIU said a tramway safety instruction manual was clear on how Luas drivers should operate doors, including allowing ample time for passengers to board and disembark trams before closing them.
Drivers are also required to use cameras and mirrors to check that doors are clear of obstruction and to use chimes to signal to passengers the tram is about to depart.
However, the RAIU said the picture quality of camera displays on some older trams was “poor”, and more refined high-definition CCTV might have assisted drivers in seeing obstacles being trapped.
The RAIU also called for “shark’s-teeth” warning stickers to highlight risks associated with closing tram doors.
It said the tram operator along with Transport Infrastructure Ireland should also develop a safety campaign to educate passengers about how tram doors operate.
