Trevor Sterling is a major trauma solicitor representing several of the victims of the Croydon Tram Crash.

Here he welcomes the progress made to improve safety measures on the tram network. The final step, he argues, is to achieve closure for the families of the victims.

The Department for Transport’s recent announcement of £1.5m in funding for a UK-wide tram safety board is a victory for campaigners and tram-users across the UK.

The funding comes as the latest in a number of measures introduced in response to the 2016 Croydon tram crash, when a tram derailed in Sandilands in Croydon, killing seven people and injuring 62 others.

The new tram safety body, named the Light Rail Safety Standards Board (LRSSB), was one of 15 recommendations made by the Rail Accidents Investigation Branch (RAIB) after the derailment.

These measures are the result of the hard work of local people, campaigners and organisations such as the RAIB working together to make sure that the interests of passengers remain at the heart of decisions around the tram network.

Now, the final step in this journey is to achieve closure for the victims of the derailment. A decision must be made about whether the driver of the tram involved will be prosecuted.

As the representative of several of the victims of the derailment, I have campaigned consistently for an effective Government response to the tragedy.

Earlier this year, I wrote an article stressing the urgency of a UK-wide tram safety body in order to prevent this sort of incident claiming even more lives.

The Department for Transport’s commitment to making this a reality is a welcome development, and something to be celebrated by communities who rely on trams to go about their day-to-day lives.

Indeed, since the derailment, we have made excellent progress in ensuring trams are safe for passengers and we must ensure that these safety measures continue into the future. We have welcomed a range of new safety measures including: an automatic braking system; speed monitoring devices; and five day rosters for tram drivers to prevent fatigue.

All of these measures are definite steps in the right direction. However, there are still a number of issues that need to be addressed to achieve UK-wide tram safety and justice for the victims and their families.

Firstly, we need assurance that the LRSSB funding will not be a one-off cash injection. We want to ensure that future generations will benefit from the safety measures we have achieved, so the board must be sustainable if it is to provide effective support.

Secondly, a decision must be made on whether or not to charge the tram driver, Alfred Dorris.

Despite there being many contributing factors to the derailment, it is important that the possibility of prosecuting of the driver is taken seriously, in order to establish legal precedent for similar cases.

Only once this has happened will victims’ families be able to question transport chiefs at an inquest into the deaths of their loved ones.

Then, and only then, can both the victims and the victims’ families gain closure and begin to move on with their lives.