Tram-packed: Overcrowding fears grow

6:50am Monday 5th March 2007

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TRAM passengers have been told the issue of overcrowding was addressed last summer with the introduction of more trams each hour.

But users of the service between Croydon and Wimbledon have described the conditions as unbearable, fearing overcrowding at peak times may compromise safety regulations.

The amount of children who can travel for free using the trams at these times has added to the problem.

Commuters are also questioning the capacity limit on the trams, saying drivers cannot prevent them being overcrowded.

Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond said: "From a Merton point of view it's a very important issue. A lot of people end their journeys in Wimbledon and in Mitcham Junction so we are likely to see overcrowding."

But Roger Harding, the general manager of Tramtrack Croydon, said that since a new timetable was introduced last summer trams between Croydon and Wimbledon had become more frequent, rising from six trams in both directions per hour to eight.

"The new timetable did an enormous amount to relieve overcrowding," he said. "Before then up to 100 of our trams, out of 15,000, were more than two-thirds full. Now that has dropped to between 20 and 30.

"In the last six months we've carried three million passengers but only received six or seven complaints about overcrowding. We are constantly working to improve conditions for passengers."

Mr Harding said there is a peak time capacity limit of 240 passengers per tram.