Tram crash at Droylsden (7 Aug 2026)
At around 12:42 BST on Friday, 7 August 2026, another incident began. A Road Traffic Collision occurred in east Droylsden, at the junction of Williamson Lane and the A662 (Ashton New Road).
The scene of the RTC on A662, 7 August 2026. Image from Facebook.
Tram 3120/---- (probably a double tram, but the fleet number of the rear tram was not confirmed) was forming the 12:32 service from Ashton-under-Lyne to Eccles via MediaCityUK on 7 August 2026.
On the approach to Droylsden tram stop at 12:42 BST, whilst travelling in the “tram only” section of the road, the front of the tram collided with the right-hand rear side of a car attempting to merge into eastbound traffic on the A662 from Williamson Lane. The disruption was announced at 12:45, and a message was posted on the Bee Network Twitter at 12:46, reading:
“Due to a road traffic collision, there is currently no service between Ashton-under-Lyne and Etihad Campus. Ticket acceptance is in place on the 7, 53, 171, 172, 216, 219, 220, 221, 230 and 231 bus services.”
The crash did happen just east of the turnback facility for Droylsden (the unmarked tram-only pavement) but services were still limited as far back as Etihad Campus, even though a turnback also exists at Clayton Hall (it may be out of commission right now). Google traffic data reported the incident at the same time.
Services resumed swiftly at 13:01, just 19 minutes after the incident began, and the site was confirmed to be cleared at 13:20. A statement from TfGM after the incident read:
“Earlier this afternoon, there was no service between Ashton and the Etihad Campus due to a road traffic collision involving a car and a tram in Droylsden. Thankfully, no injuries have been reported. Services are now back up and running, but there are still some delays on the line. We're sorry to passengers who have been affected.”
- Danny Vaughan, Chief Network Officer at Transport for Greater Manchester
Earlier in the day, a points fault occurred at Cornbrook, causing further delays to the wider network, and a medical emergency happened at Oldham Mumps in the late afternoon.
