A report on the runaway Snaefell Mountain tram will only be published following the conclusion of any legal proceedings.

Isle of Man Newspapers requested a copy of the accident investigation report, under the Freedom of Information Act.

But our request has been refused by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, claiming that it is exempt from release by law and the incident in question may be subject to potential legal proceedings.

But DEFA’s response adds: ’A factual report will be made available for public perusal by the Health & Safety Inspectorate following conclusion of any potential legal proceedings.’

A Health and Safety at Work Inspectorate investigation was launched last summer after a Snaefell Mountain Railway tram lost power to its brakes after leaving the summit station.

It hurtled out of control over the crossing at the Bungalow before the motorman was finally able to bring it to a halt using the manual fell brake.

Passengers told of their terrifying experience as tramcar no.2 careered out of control down the mountain. One told of being in ’plane crash mode’.

Miraculously, no one was seriously hurt and no traffic was on the Bungalow crossing at the time.

Services on the SMR, which had been under a health and safety prohibition notice since October, resumed on Good Friday.

DEFA’s response to our FoI request claims that the release of the accident report could deter whistleblowers from coming forward.

Listing factors in favour of disclosure, it says this could improve public confidence in the safe operation of the SMR and that serious incidents will be investigated with the ’appropriate degree of rigour’.

But it says those factors are outweighed by the need to ensure the investigation is not compromised.

It notes: ’Release of information may hamper the gathering of intelligence information from confidential sources such as informants or whistle blowers.

’If open communication between people affected by an incident and the HSWI is compromised or damaged it may lead to responsible people and bodies operating in a less managed and less safe fashion.’

DEFA had cited similar grounds for refusing to release an accident investigation report into an earlier runaway tram incident.

But results of the accident investigation were released when we requested a review of that decision and DEFA accepted an exemption had been wrongly applied.

In March 2016, a vintage Snaefell tram was completely destroyed when it left the Summit station unmanned and crashed off the track shortly before Bungalow.

A letter giving an update on the investigation, released under FoI, revealed a fracture was found in the mechanism of one of the parking brakes and signs of wear or damage in the other.

Further testing could not establish whether the crack had formed before or during the crash. No written inspection or maintenance procedure for the parking brakes was in place.

â?¢ The Department of Infrastructure is facing court action after being accused of 17 health and safety failings allegedly to have been committed between April 2015 and August last year.

Fifteen of the charges relate to a failure to discharge a duty and two of failing to comply with regulations.

It is understood that a number of charges relate to tramway incidents.