Millions in compensation paid to Melbourne’s rail passengers and tram injuries rise across city

SERIOUS injuries involving trams are now a weekly occurrence, with one demographic most likely to be hurt while catching public transport, new figures reveal.

INJURED Victorian rail commuters have been paid millions of dollars in ­compensation, and serious mishaps on trams are now a weekly occurrence.

Data collected by Transport Safety Victoria show hospital admissions of tram passengers surged 6.1 per cent, year on year, from 2005-06 to 2014-15.

On average, there were 52 admissions a year, 49.7 per cent of them for fractures.

And older women were the tram passengers who were most likely to be hurt.

TSV’s manager of research, strategy and risk, Lisa Faldon, said the most common causes of injury were sudden stops and starts.

MELBOURNE’S BIG TRAIN AND TRAM FAIL

TRAMS AT RISK OF SUMMER MELTDOWN

At least one person is seriously injured on or by a tram a week, new figures reveal. Picture: AAP Image/James Ross

“Only about 3 per cent of injuries could be ­attributed to collision,” she said.

“Often, tram drivers have no choice but to brake heavily to avoid a collision, and usually that is to do with something a car is doing on the road.”

In the first three quarters of 2017, 49 people were seriously hurt on trams in Melbourne. Figures for the last quarter have yet to be released.

“We saw a lot of fractures, generally to lower limbs, but also a lot of head injuries,” Ms Faldon said.

“The message for customers is, when you’re travelling, look after the people around. And there’s a lesson for cab drivers and other motorists who share the road near busy tram routes to be ­really aware of what their movements can do.”

Collisions only caused a very small percentage of injuries. Picture: Nicole Garmston

MELBOURNE, YOU’RE GETTING TRAM LESSONS

Last year, Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission paid out $6 million in no-fault claims relating to train and tram accidents.

The lifetime cost of a no-fault claim is estimated to amount to about $30,300 per person.

Yarra Trams’s Simon Murphy said nothing was more important than the safety of passengers, staff, and other road users, and the operator was working to improve this through its training and public safety campaigns.

He said: “Seventy-five per cent of Melbourne’s tram network is shared with other road users, so it is critical that everyone is ­always mindful of trams when travelling on and around tram tracks.

“More than 70 per cent of vehicle-to-tram collisions are caused by vehicles turning, or merging, on to tram tracks,” Mr Murphy said.

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