Just over £2,500 was spent on a fact-finding trip to the Alps by three public transport officials.

The three travelled to Switzerland and Austria earlier this month to check out safety equipment used on mountain railways.

Details emerged in response to a Freedom of Information request - but no costs of the trip were released initially.

But now the Department of Infrastructure had confirmed that the total cost was £2,544.

The Swiss visit took place as a Health and Safety at Work Inspectorate investigation continues into the runaway tram incident on August 4 this year when a vintage tram sustained brake failure after it left the summit terminus.

It hurtled across the Mountain Road at The Bungalow before the crew finally managed to stop it using the hand-operated fell brake.

Miraculously, no one was seriously hurt and no traffic was on the crossing at the time. Passengers told of their terrifying experience, with some reporting being in ’plane crash mode’.

Director of public transport Ian Longworth, together with a traction engineer and a specialist railway safety engineer travelled to the Alps to assess safety systems and see if they could be adapted for use on the Snaefell Mountain Railway.

A spokesman for the public transport division said the trip was a great success and had helped draw up a plan to secure the future of the Snaefell line.

She said: ’The cost incurred for the trip by the director was £848.11. The total cost for all three was £2,544.33 subject to exchange rate when the accounts arrive.

’The trip was a great success and has helped us put a clear plan together to ensure we can secure the future of the SMR which, as you know is a popular attraction with passenger numbers increasing year on year.’

She explained that while in Switzerland and Austria, the director and two engineers had visited the manufacturers and designers of modern trams operating to a similar gauge to those in the Isle of Man.

They had assessed the safety systems installed on those trams and discussed the viability of adapting these systems for possible use on the Snaefell Mountain Railway.

Head of the Health and Safety at Work Inspectorate Bernard Warden has said the accident investigation into the runaway mountain tram is ’progressing’.

He said his team is close to gathering all the evidence but he could not yet say when the report will be finished.