On Thursday 25 October 2018, the brand new Tram-Train service started operating between Sheffield Cathedral and Rotherham Parkgate via Rotherham Central station. Passengers in South Yorkshire are the first in the country to benefit from the innovative Tram-Trains which are special trams designed to run on both the city\u2019s tramlines and the rail network between Sheffield and Rotherham.<\/p>\n
But, after costing \u00a375m and being delayed by two years, the pilot project and launch of the exciting new Tram-Train unfortunately didn\u2019t quite go to plan\u2026<\/p>\n
On its first day of service, a Tram-Train travelling at about 20mph derailed after a crash with a lorry on Staniforth Road in Sheffield. Fortunately, there were no reports of anyone being trapped or seriously injured, but some passengers did suffer with minor injuries.<\/p>\n
In car, bus, train, tram and Tram-Train crashes, passengers may be injured physically and\/or psychologically, but you may wonder if they have a claim? The answer is usually yes.<\/p>\n
Any passenger in a car, bus, tram, on a motorcycle or any other form of transport including a Tram-Train who is injured whilst travelling is normally entitled to bring to a claim for compensation for the injuries they have sustained if the collision was someone else\u2019s fault.<\/p>\n
In this case, it is unclear from reports what exactly caused the Tram-Train to collide with the lorry, but accidents like this are nearly always the fault of someone who is insured against injury claims. Normally, it is the driver of either the vehicle the claimant is travelling in or the driver of the vehicle it collides with.<\/p>\n
Passengers nearly always succeed, providing medical evidence confirms that they suffered injury as a result of the collision. If passengers are not wearing seatbelts which are provided at the time of the accident, their compensation may be reduced by up to 25% on the grounds of their contributory negligence, but they will still be able to bring a claim.<\/p>\n
The only time an injured passenger will not win would be if they were found to be to blame for the accident, which happens rarely.<\/p>\n