Man charged following Sheffield to Rotherham tram-train crash

The 60-year-old, from Rotherham, is due to appear at Sheffield Magistrates' Court on February 14 following the collision on October 25 '“ the day the service welcomed passengers for the first time.

The crash happened at the junction of Woodbourn Road and Staniforth Road in Darnall.

South Yorkshire Police said the man will also be charged with contravening a red traffic light.

The tram-train was travelling from Parkgate back into Sheffield city centre when the collision happened.

A total of four people were injured, with one taken to hospital. - Passengers said the tram-train lifted around 1m in the air before derailing and landed around 6m to the left of the tracks.

Steve Barber, vice president of the Light Rail Transit Association, who was on board at the time of the crash, said: "I was sat in the front seat of the tram and we were approaching the junction and all I saw was a lorry in front and then the bed of it hit the tram.

'The next minute we were up in the air and my back went. The windows were all smashed and we landed about 6m to the left of the tracks."

The tram-train service had only welcomed passengers for the first time earlier in the day.

The pilot project was orginally due to be operational in 2015 at a cost of £15 million.

It launched almost three years late at a total cost of £75 million.

A tram-train was also involved in a crash at the same junction on November 30.