CCTV FOOTAGE of a collision in Dublin between a bus and a Luas tram “very clearly” showed the bus had a green light, the head of CIÉ has said.
Three separate investigations have begun into Wednesday’s crash, which left at least 21 people injured when a Luas collided with a double-decker bus as it crossed the junction between Abbey Street and O’Connell Street in the city centre at 3pm.
The no 16 bus was on its way to Santry, north Dublin and the Luas was on its way to Connolly Station.
Four people were still being treated in three Dublin hospitals last night for their injuries.
One person remained in a serious condition in the Mater hospital, and three others were described as stable at Beaumont Hospital and St James’s Hospital.
An investigation into the collision is being led by gardaí, while Dublin Bus and Veolia Transport, the company that operates the Luas system, are conducting separate investigations.
The results will be given to the Minister for Transport and the Railway Accident Investigation Unit of the Railway Safety Commission may also be involved, if necessary.
Speaking yesterday, CIÉ chairman Dr John Lynch said Dublin Bus had examined CCTV footage and it showed clearly the bus driver had a green light.
He said gardaí had been given the footage and may also have footage from the Luas tram. “We’re very clear that there was a green light for the driver,” he said. “What can a driver do if he has a green light except go through?”
Mr Lynch expressed his sympathies for those injured and their families.
Veolia Transport declined to comment on Mr Lynch’s remarks. “Veolia Transport is conducting its own investigation and is fully co-operating with the Garda investigation which is still on going,” a spokeswoman said.
It had been advised by gardaí not to comment on the investigation while it is ongoing, she said.
The spokeswoman also defended the lack of seat belts for drivers of trams, saying that the Luas system was not alone in not having seat belts for its drivers.
“It is the international norm that light rail systems are not fitted with safety belts. Any change in this situation would be for tram manufacturers to make,” she said.
Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey wished a speedy recovery to those injured in the crash. “It was pretty horrific looking and an incident that we do not want to see repeated,” he said.
He said while he accepted what Mr Lynch had said, he did not wish to speculate on the cause of the crash pending the outcome of an inquiry.
“I think in an incident like this we need to look at all aspects of it and if there is any question about lights or priorities or anything else that needs to be looked at, everything will be looked at,” he said.
“We need to find out the causes first of all and then try to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
Gardaí have appealed for witnesses to the collision to contact them. They have asked for anyone who was in the area of O’Connell Street Lower and Abbey Street junction at the time of the accident to contact them.
Bus and Luas passengers who left the scene before emergency services arrived have also been asked to contact the gardaí.
Since the Luas light rail tram system was introduced in 2004, there have been 13 minor road traffic incidents, 12 incidents which involved “minor contact” with pedestrians and two derailments, one of which occurred as a result of yesterday’s collision. A pedestrian in his 50s died in February, 2008 when he was struck by a Luas tram in Tallaght.
Key issues must be addressed
THREE DIFFERENT investigations by the Garda, Dublin Bus and Veolia Transport, which operates the Luas, are under way into the collision between a tram and a bus on O’Connell Street. There are a number of issues that will have to be investigated:
1: Did either the bus or the Luas tram break the traffic lights?
CIÉ chairman Dr John Lynch said yesterday that CCTV footage showed the bus had a green light before moving off from its position at the junction of O’Connell Street and Middle Abbey Street. Veolia Transport said it had no comment to make, citing an ongoing inquiry.
2: Was there a signal failure in the Luas system?
If a malfunction occurred, both vehicles could have been given a green light simultaneously.
3: Was the bus forced to stop in the path of the Luas due to pedestrians?
Witness Alan Hunter, who was standing outside Clerys at the time of the crash, told The Irish Timesthat several pedestrians crossed directly in front of the bus, causing it to stop. "What seemed to happen was that the bus had to brake in the middle of the junction because there were pedestrians running out in front of him," he said. "That happens all the time, particularly on O'Connell Street. Members of the public won't wait for the lights to cross, and just walk out."
4: Was the Luas driver distracted by pedestrians?
Lynne Henderson, who was standing outside Clarke’s shoe shop on the corner of O’Connell Street and Middle Abbey Street at the time of the crash, said the Luas driver sounded his horn after a pedestrian crossed in front of his tram as he was about to take off. “One man ran in front of the tram and the driver then sounded his horn quite deliberately three times before moving off,” she said. “I didn’t see if he had a green light or not.”
5: Was Garda activity in the area a factor?
Ms Henderson said she saw two Garda patrol cars and an unmarked car come down the southbound lane of O’Connell Street at speed, turn right at the central median at the Abbey Street junction along the Luas tracks and proceed down Middle Abbey Street seconds before the crash.
Several other witnesses who contacted The Irish Timesalso reported Garda activity in the immediate vicinity in the moments preceding the crash.
The Garda Press Office declined to comment, saying only that "the circumstances of the crash are under investigation". KILIAN DOYLE