Blackpool Tramway - Incidents and Accidents

Incidents and Accidents

There have been several accidents where pedestrians have been hit. Most recently a pedestrian, Maureen Foxwell age 70, was struck down and killed by a speeding driver at a designated crossing on 5 August 2009. The driver who was travelling at over three times the speed limit, near tram stops of 4 mph, was sentenced to 15 months in prison. Only two very serious collisions between vehicles have occurred since operation began in 1885. These are:

• 6 July 1980 - Balloon trams 705 and 706 collided head-on on the turning loop at the Pleasure Beach. 705 was bound for Starr Gate whilst 706 was stationary on the loop. 705 was led onto the wrong line due to the points being incorrectly set and went straight into 706 which was about to depart for Fleetwood. Both trams were severely damaged by the collision; 705 was scrapped, the only balloon to meet this fate until 2009 when 722 was scrapped. 706 was rebuilt as an open-top. A subsequent County Court judgement in 1982 found that Blackpool Corporation were 80% to blame for the collision.

• 13 March 2004 - Centenary tram 644 derailed and collided into a wall on the promenade near Gynn Square. One of the poles from the Illuminations had been deliberately placed in the groove of the left-hand rail of the northbound line. 644 narrowly missed a pedestrian walking along the promenade and went through the wall, knocking debris onto the walkway below. The tram was balancing on the wall, but was certain not to fall off it.

• 24 January 2007 - Supertram 611, while undergoing a trial run, caught fire near Foxhall, causing severe damage to one end of the cab. Luckily no one was injured, but the tram did not return to Blackpool when repaired.