Luas derails

chewy

the luaas derailed at stevens green today, as it changed tracks it rear most wheel seemed to jump out of the tracks and the tram pulled the wheels scraping the ground for a few meters i arrived 10 mins after this happened the people photography was around.. they eventualyl got this hydrolic thingy out and with block of word inched it back into place ... hight tech hey?

Flukey

Luckily no one appears to have been hurt. It did cause some disruption. Hopefully these kinds of problems can be avoided in the future, especially as the amount of passengers will be on the increase from next week.

chewy

yeah i thought somebody been hit... there were so many ppl milling around with the photo exhibit , has anybody been hit or nealry hit by the luas


how and hwy id it disrail

Flukey

I don't think anyone has been hit. There was a wing-mirror knocked off at one stage.

Bee

Why does the Luas derail so easily anyone?

Bee

John R

Bee wrote:

Why does the Luas derail so easily anyone?

I must have missed the engineers report that concluded that it does derail easily.

Imposter

Bee wrote:

Why does the Luas derail so easily anyone?

Bee

I'd imagine it's something to do with stones and stuff in the groove in the tracks.

Victor

chewy wrote:

has anybody been hit or nealry hit by the luas

One car hit the Luas on the first(?) day of public services.

LFCFan

I wouldn't be surprised is some of the 'intelligent' youth of Dublin cause more derailments by blocking the grooves. Especially on the Tallaght line. They've already had problems with rocks being thrown at the LUAS during testing.

ixoy

LFCFan wrote:

I wouldn't be surprised is some of the 'intelligent' youth of Dublin cause more derailments by blocking the grooves. Especially on the Tallaght line. They've already had problems with rocks being thrown at the LUAS during testing.

That thought crossed my mind as well - it's very easy to disrupt, I'd imagine with easy access to the rails. Alas, the LUAS can't be equipped with an automated targetting system for any would-be stone throwers...

On a related note - anyone know if they're planning a free day of travel when the Tallaght line opens? I wasn't around for the first freebies and this new line is right beside me. Be a good reason to finally board the thing.

threebeards

Luas in collision at Jervis St junction

30 August 2004 12:58
A car and a Luas tram collided at the Jervis St junction in Dublin this morning.

Gardaí say the incident happened just after 10am. No one was injured.

A spokesperson for Connex, the company that runs the two Luas lines says the accident was a 'minor incident'.



Both the tram and the car sustained slight damage.

The accident happened on the Tallaght to Connolly Station line which has not yet opened.

The company says it is still investigating Saturday's derailment of a tram near St Stephen's Green.

Eventful few days!!

Victor

ixoy wrote:

On a related note - anyone know if they're planning a free day of travel when the Tallaght line opens? I wasn't around for the first freebies and this new line is right beside me. Be a good reason to finally board the thing.

5 free days I understand.

sliabh

Imposter wrote:

I'd imagine it's something to do with stones and stuff in the groove in the tracks.

I think it has more to do with factors such as inertia from the weight of the tram, the speed the tram is moving at and the fact that there is a bend/track change there.

I have noticed that whereas initially the trams all stopped and then slowly entered the terminus at the green when they were crossing tracks, lately some of the drivers are just slowing down and move through in one go.

I'd say the most likely explanation was a tram going too fast at that point.

Victor

http://home.eircom.net/content/unison/national/3897323?view=Eircomnet

Probe launched as Luas derails
From:The Irish Independent
Monday, 30th August, 2004

THE driver of the Luas tram that derailed on Saturday will be interviewed today as part of an investigation into the incident.

Officials from Connex, which owns and operates the tram line, said computer records would also be analysed to see why the tram went off the rails as it was approaching St Stephen's Green on Saturday afternoon.

No one was injured and the car was not damaged, a Connex official told the Irish Independent yesterday.

However, the accident caused disruption on the tramline for several hours.

"To say what caused it now would be speculation, but these things can happen," he said.

Meanwhile, rail officials are hopeful the second Luas line stretching from Tallaght to Connolly Station will be up and running by the end of September.

Railway Procurement Agency spokesman Ger Hannon said while a start-up date had not been finalised, the trams were expected to be put into service within the next month.

He also confirmed it was unlikely the new line would initially meet the target of a 43-minute journey as both tram drivers and motorists get used to it being in operation. Testing currently being conducted on the line had confirmed a longer journey time.

However, officials say the target will be met a few weeks after the line is up and running.

"We're quite confident we'll get there," he said.

Allison Bray

enterprise

Yes, Tram 4011 derailed near the crossovers at the green at approx
14.30. I arrived on the scene from the IFSC where I was having lunch
with a friend at about 15.15. Of course RTE and most others got it
wrong. I explain what happened below.

Tram 4011 was operating a Sandyford - St. Stephens Green service, on
arrival at the crossovers before the Green terminus the tram stopped
and operated the points into the "normal" position (i.e. go
straight ahead). However the driver claims when he restarted the
points switched back in to "reverse" and he went across the
crossover into the path of another tram which was at the tram stop.

The driver of 4011 stopped, contacted control and got permission to
change ends and proceed back towards the Cuffe Street Junction and
then set back into the tram stop.

However a slight problem which nobody copped it seems, the set of
points the 1st two bogies had travelled over were sprung in the
normal position, so as soon as he took the tram back over the
crossover towards Cuffe Street most of the tram went the right way
over the crossover while the rear two bogies went straight ahead! One
of the bogies rerailed itself but the trailing bogie went between
the two running lines ending up about 30 degrees out of alignment
from the rest of the tram.

Rerailing of the tram took about 90 mins with the tram back on the
rails at 17.52. Services between Cowper and St. Stephens Green
resumed approx 18.45 - 19.00 hours.

ENTERPRISE

BrianD

Bee wrote:

Why does the Luas derail so easily anyone?

Bee

They don't! Work out the number of journeys since the line opened and then the number of derailments. There are an insignificant number of derailments. I am aware of three incidents which were reported.

Hecate

Wasn't one of those three an exercise where they purposely de-railed it to gauge fire brigade response times etc..?

BrianD

... and I am sure that there other mishaps that we don't hear about. Irish Rail has a number every week as do almost every rail network in the world. Any of the reported derailments have brought minor inconvenience but have not brought the line to a standstill.

BTW the wooden chocks and hydraulic jacks may look relatively crude and unsophisticated but are the most practical way of putting the tram back on its tracks.

sliabh

BrianD wrote:

... and I am sure that there other mishaps that we don't hear about. Irish Rail has a number every week as do almost every rail network in the world. Any of the reported derailments have brought minor inconvenience but have not brought the line to a standstill.

Yeah, in this instance the Luas is at a disadvantage as it is new, it is very visible running through the streets of Dublin and there is no shortage of begrudgers looking for any problem so they can call the system a failure.