RAIB▸ have responded to the accident on the opening day and to another one in November at the same junction. Neither merits a full investigation, but two in one place so quickly has led to a published note and a letter to the council:
Noting that two similar accidents have occurred in a short timespan at the Staniforth Road junction, the RAIB has written to the Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council advising that a risk-based review of this junction and the road traffic signals is carried out, and that prompt action is taken based on the findings of this review. The RAIB also noted that the positioning of a pole supporting the tramways’s overhead power supply wires had the potential to worsen the outcome of the accident of 30 November 2018. The RAIB has also written to UK▸ Tram, which is the trade body representing the UK light rail industry, and responsible for providing guidance to constructors, operators and maintainers of such system. The RAIB has suggested that UK Tram consider whether guidance for the placement of such supply poles in close proximity to roads which cross tramways is required. The RAIB’s letter refers to guidance on this subject which has been issued by a French government body, the Service Technique des Remontees Mecaniques et des Transports Guides
