Tram derails at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast after medical emergency
All tram services south of Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast were suspended for much of the day after a tram derailed this morning.
The tram had just unloaded all passengers at the Surfers Paradise North station following a medical emergency at the Cavill Avenue Station.
It then continued south until its tail jumped the tracks near Ocean Avenue and Surfers Paradise Boulevard, smashing into a light pole.
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A light pole appears to have speared the second carriage. Nine
"Its been a difficult incident, its not one in the training manual," Ty Hopson from the fire department said.
Witness Alan Jarvie said he noticed the tram changing lines.
"I was watching it sorta start moving, taking off and part of it went off, part of it just slid along the track line," Jarvie said.
"All of a sudden, it hit that middle wire post and wires come down, a few sparks, not for very long.
"It shut off pretty quickly and then all of a sudden people came from everywhere."
Overhead lines from Surfers to Helensvale had to be de-energised to allow crews to get to work. 9News
Overhead lines from Surfers to Helensvale had to be de-energised to allow crews to get to work.
The pole wedged so deeply into the carriage, workers struggled to remove it.
The effort ultimately took several hours - with a crane, engineers, police officers and firefighters from three stations all getting involved.
"It did take a long time to actually remove the side of the tram to then gain access to the base of the pole," Hopson said.
The driver was taken to hospital as a precaution.
The pole wedged so deeply into the carriage, workers struggled to remove it. 9News
G:link services were disrupted for much of the day with busses replacing trams around the crash zone.
Road closures were still in effect into the evening, causing peak-hour traffic gridlock.
Services north to Helensvale have been restored but south to Broadbeach remains closed, with only buses available as transport.
G:LINK says it is investigating the cause of the derailment and working to identify any damage to the network. Workplace Health & Safety is also investigating.
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