Three separate investigations are underway after eight people were injured when a tour bus collided with a Luas tram in Dublin on Friday.
In a statement, Transdev, which is the company that operates the Luas, said it was conducting its own investigation into the matter, while the Garda and the Railway Accident Investigation Unit are carrying out separate investigations.
Gardaí said the incident took place near Lincoln Lane in Smithfield at about 11am.
Tour Bus crashes into Luas.Hope everyone is ok! #luas #dublincityscope #dublincrash @JohnXDonnelly pic.twitter.com/bTzhFKtDWW
— John Donnelly (@JohnXDonnelly) October 28, 2016
We've fire units & adv paramedics attending a #Luas vs tour bus RTC in #Smithfield. NAS also on scene. Pics ©️ @gerrycurran @JohnXDonnelly pic.twitter.com/PKaYQcIgcu
— Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) October 28, 2016
Services were suspended from 11am until 12.30pm between Blackhorse and The Point. There were some delays affecting services until 3pm.
The tram was travelling towards Tallaght and was not derailed in the incident. Gardaí confirmed eight people were injured in the collision.
The statement from Transdev said four of the eight injured people – including the Luas driver – attended hospital. The other four were described as “walking wounded”.
Three of the injured were taken to the Mater Hospital, while a young child was taken to Temple Street Children’s University Hospital. Their injuries are not believed to be life threatening.
“Our priority is our staff and passengers well-being at the time,” added Transdev.
Úna-Minh Kavanagh was at the Smithfield stop when the incident happened. “I had my headphones on and then I heard a massive bang and the sound of glass smashing,” she said.
“It looked like the tour bus hit the Luas and the tram continued moving for a while because it couldn’t stop straightaway, so the entire side of the Luas was smashed.
“Then everyone just started helping people get off quickly. A lot of them were in shock and didn’t speak much but there were people at the very front where the driver was that couldn’t stand up so people moved back to give them space.
“But there was glass everywhere. I hope that people are okay. People were pretty shook.”
Cityscape, the company of the hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus involved in the incident, did not respond to a request for comment.
In 2015, there were 22 collisions involving the Luas and other vehicles. All were described by Transdev as “minor”. So far in 2016, there have been 19 collisions. All of these, before Friday’s incident, have also been described by Transdev as “minor”.
