Training puts crews from across the Fylde coast on the right track

Crews joined forces at the tram depot at Starr Gate for the drill at the weekend, which saw them isolating power before practicing lifting the Bombardier vehicle.

The training is carried out periodically, with each watch putting their skills to their test every six months or so, to ensure crews are ready, if needed, to respond to a real emergency.

“The old style trams had big scoops on it where the new ones don’t,” a spokesman told The Gazette yesterday. “The new ones don’t and we don’t get as many incidents as we used to, but you can still get trapped underneath.

“And the new ones are bigger and heavier.”

While also learning how to safely lift the tram, crews also practise making it safe for themselves, learning where isolation switches are.

In September, a similar exercise was held on the tramway outside the Sandcastle Waterpark, with several dummies rescued by crews.