Investigators call for anti-drag technology on every Luas tram

Major safety concerns raised

The Railway Accident Investigation Unit (RAIU) is now urging the Luas operator and Transport Infrastructure Ireland to consider fitting advanced anti-drag and obstacle-detection technology to both existing and future trams.

The recommendations follow incidents in which objects less than 10mm wide were not detected by the current system, allowing the doors to close and lock around them.

The most serious case happened at Stillorgan on 15 May, when a teenage girl’s coat became caught in the doors just as the tram was leaving before she had managed to board.

She was forced to run alongside the moving tram before eventually freeing herself, causing her to fall onto the platform.

The driver did not realise what had happened, and the girl suffered a deep laceration to her face, along with grazes to her knees and hands. She was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment.

What The RAIU Wants Changed On The Luas

The RAIU warned that these incidents could have resulted in serious injuries or even fatalities, highlighting the dangers of a passenger being pulled along by a moving tram.

Investigators looked at several parts of the Luas safety system, including how the doors close, the technology used to detect obstacles and the information provided to drivers.

There were several other incidents during the same period. On 21 April at Heuston, a man got the tip of his finger caught in the doors, while on 29 May at Busáras, a bag became trapped with two passengers. In both cases, the driver only brought the tram to a stop after being alerted to what had happened.

A further incident occurred on 17 June at the Hospital stop in Tallaght, when a dog managed to board a tram but its owner did not get on before it left.

The lead was wrapped around the woman’s wrist, meaning she was pulled along the platform until she managed to free herself. She suffered minor cuts, while the dog was unharmed.