8:56am Tuesday 3rd April 2007
By Dan Menhinnitt
The nightmare scenario of a tram derailment with passengers killed and others badly injured will be played out in an emergency exercise.
Police, firefighters and other services will be testing tram operators' emergency plans on April 15 during Exercise Mole.
Volunteers from Croydon College, the Met Police's Croydon Cadets and the Casualties Union will be acting as casualties.
Exercise Mole will see the scenario of a peak time tram, packed with 60 passengers, derailing after it hits a large concrete slab at the Lloyd Park end of the Sandilands Tunnel.
The tram which is derailed and extensively damaged is then hit by another tram travelling in the opposite direction with about 50 passengers on board.
In the grizzly scenario a number of passengers will be killed and others badly injured.
Residents living near to where the exercise will take place will be sent leaflets warning them in advance.
No road closures are thought to be necessary for the exercise to take place.
Charles Tomlinson, head of safety for Tramtrack Croydon Ltd, said: "Regular emergency exercises are an essential means of testing our emergency preparedness plans and help to ensure we can provide a rapid and co-ordinated approach to a range of potential incidents."
Croydon police Inspector Ray Whiting said: "These multi-agency exercises provide the emergency services with an opportunity to fully test our co-ordinated response to a major incident. There will be an operation debrief at the end of the exercise and these exercises assist us collectively in being further prepared for dealing more effectively with major incidents."
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