Electric tram incidents

Summary

A request was made for safety incident details and investigation findings for Isle of Man heritage railways from 2011, along with the identity of a specific Snaefell car involved in a brake failure. The Department of Infrastructure responded that it was not required to fulfill the request in full because it did not manage the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway until April 2016 and lacked data for July and August 2017.

Key Facts

• The request covered safety incidents for the Manx Electric Railway, Isle of Man Railway, Douglas Horse Tramway, and Snaefell Mountain Railway.
• The Department of Infrastructure did not manage the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway until April 2016, so no prior data was available.
• Incident statistics were collated quarterly, meaning data for July and August 2017 was not yet available at the time of response.
• The response was officially categorized as 'Not required to fulfill request'.
• The request specifically asked for the identity of the Snaefell car involved in a brake failure on August 4th.

Data Disclosed

• 11th October 2011
• 2 October 2011
• 30 June 2017
• April 2016
• Friday 4th August
• 7 August 2017
• 30 August 2017
• IM98267i

Exemptions Cited

• Information not held due to lack of management authority prior to April 2016
• Data not yet collated for July and August 2017

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

FOI Reference No: IM98267i Request Under The Freedom Of Information Act 2015 (“The Act”)

Thank you for your on-line application dated 7 August 2017. You asked (Clarification is shown in blue italics)

1a. Please can you provide details of all safety related incidents dating back to 11th October 2011, concerning the Island's Heritage Railways (Manx Electric Railway, Isle of Man Railway, Douglas Horse Tramway and Snaefell Mountain Railway) , Details to include – which railway, category of incident(derailment, overhead wires, brake failure etc) and the number of each incident, and
1b. the findings of any subsequent investigations or enquiries ?

1. Also please can you provide the identity of the Snaefell car which was involved in the brakes failure incident on Friday 4th August.

Response to your request

1a. Total incidents, near misses (which we encourage staff to report) and hazard reports from 2 October 2011 to 30 June 2017.

These figures are collated on a quarterly basis and hence, statistics for July and August 2017 are not yet available.

The Douglas Bay Horse Tramway was not under the management of the Department of Infrastructure until April 2016, hence, information was not available prior to this date.