Blackpool Trams News

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I have been asked to ask an unusual request with regards to the new tram line up Talbot Road. On that road is Sacred Heart RC church and the query was if a funeral service were to be held there, would the hearse and other Funeral directors cars still be able to park outside the church, as the coffin would need to be brought into the church for the service. Does anyone on here know if the required road space between the pavement and the tram tracks would be sufficient.

 

[cool110]

Does anyone on here know if the required road space between the pavement and the tram tracks would be sufficient.

There's no space at all, however there are a set of permit parking bays marked on that section of the pavement.

 

[Trackman]

I have been asked to ask an unusual request with regards to the new tram line up Talbot Road. On that road is Sacred Heart RC church and the query was if a funeral service were to be held there, would the hearse and other Funeral directors cars still be able to park outside the church, as the coffin would need to be brought into the church for the service. Does anyone on here know if the required road space between the pavement and the tram tracks would be sufficient.

If it's the one I'm thinking about (trundled up and down Talbot road many times), it has a car-park next to the entrance, bags of room for a hearse/funeral family cars.

 

[AngelicUpstart]

I have been asked to ask an unusual request with regards to the new tram line up Talbot Road. On that road is Sacred Heart RC church and the query was if a funeral service were to be held there, would the hearse and other Funeral directors cars still be able to park outside the church, as the coffin would need to be brought into the church for the service. Does anyone on here know if the required road space between the pavement and the tram tracks would be sufficient.

Yes, there are two lay-bys just for this, and weddings, etc.

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.com

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Yes, there are two lay-bys just for this, and weddings, etc.

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.com

The reason that I raised the matter was that someone had told me the Sacred Heart church car park entrance was closed off some time during the time of the line installation works. I cannot vouch for the veracity of that information.

 

[AngelicUpstart]

You're testing my memory there, but I seem to remember that they did Talbot Road in two bits, split outside Sacred Heart so that they always had access via one access gate or another.

Wednesday 12th June has been announced as opening day.

 

[Tramfan]

https://www.blackpool.gov.uk/Campaigns/Tramway-launch/First-Rider.aspx

Blackpool’s tramway extension is set to welcome its first passengers on the 12 June and residents of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre can enter the draw to be on the very first tram.

Link from Blackpool Council Facebook page stating the first passenger tram to the North Station extension should be the 12th June

---

https://www.blackpool.gov.uk/news/blackpool-tramway-extension-to-open.aspx?date=24-04-2024

The first regular trams taking fare paying passengers will start on Sunday 16 June with details of routes and timings available nearer the time. There will also be limited tickets available on special tram tours on the 13, 14 and 15 June. Tickets will be on sale from the middle of May and more detail will be released in due course. Visit www.blackpooltransport.com for more information.

Regular North Station service confirmed to be starting from Sunday 16th June, with other tours in the days leading up to that date

 

[davehsug]

Seems a long delay? There's hardly a mass of new route to learn. Just very disappointed I'm going to miss out when I stay for 5 days in late May.

 

[STINT47]

British trams online are reporting that once the extension is open the services will be three route each running every 30 minuets

Starr Gate to Fleetwood Ferry
Starr Gate to North Station
North Station to Fleetwood Ferry

This will give a combined frequency from North Pier to Starr Gate and from North Pier to Fleetwood Ferry every 15 minuets as now but anyone wanting to do a through journey for example from Bispham to Pleasure Beach will only see a 30 minuet service.

Passengers may be able to change between trams at North Station but timings have not been confirmed.

If the above is all correct and assuming that no extra short journeys run then it makes you wonder why they purchased two extra Flexity trams? When these, the extension and in fact the whole tramway modernisation was planned we were promised a much better service than this.

It's all a bit disappointing in my opinion and I fear there will be overcrowded trams this summer.

 

[Harvey B]

British trams online are reporting that once the extension is open the services will be three route each running every 30 minuets

Starr Gate to Fleetwood Ferry
Starr Gate to North Station
North Station to Fleetwood Ferry

This will give a combined frequency from North Pier to Starr Gate and from North Pier to Fleetwood Ferry every 15 minuets as now but anyone wanting to do a through journey for example from Bispham to Pleasure Beach will only see a 30 minuet service.

Passengers may be able to change between trams at North Station but timings have not been confirmed.

If the above is all correct and assuming that no extra short journeys run then it makes you wonder why they purchased two extra Flexity trams? When these, the extension and in fact the whole tramway modernisation was planned we were promised a much better service than this.

It's all a bit disappointing in my opinion and I fear there will be overcrowded trams this summer.

This'll be a nightmare come Illuminations season. Hopefully we see a sort of enhanced service during the illuminations

 

[Andyh82]

Imagine people waiting at “the norbreck” and all those sorts of hotels and wanting to go to the Pleasure Beach, and it’s only every 30 mins

Go back 10-15 years and I wonder what the combined frequency of tram and No. 1 bus was along the prom, compared to now?

 

[Harvey B]

Imagine people waiting at “the norbreck” and all those sorts of hotels and wanting to go to the Pleasure Beach, and it’s only every 30 mins

Go back 10-15 years and I wonder what the combined frequency of tram and No. 1 bus was along the prom, compared to now?

Even before Covid, the Trams where at a 10 minute maximum frequency during peak season

 

[philthetube]

you get the impression that Blackpool council is not concerned about maximising revenue.

With the current timetable money is lost because many passengers are left behind, there is often no chance of catching a tram into Blackpool for people catching a tram from anywhere near Gyn Square, and they are often so rammed that cash collection is impossible for conductors.

 

[Harvey B]

How come that Balloon trams 711,713 and 719 haven't seen much use. I don't even think they're used on Heritage Services anymore

 

[edwin_m]

Hopefully the service quoted is the minimum all year round and extras will operate in the summer and for the Illuminations.

Unfortunately if the two routes are to give a combined 15min interval north and south of Manchester Square, then the two North Station routes are unlikely to connect to give an increased effective frequency between the Fleetwood line and the Promenade.

 

[markymark2000]

you get the impression that Blackpool council is not concerned about maximising revenue.

With the current timetable money is lost because many passengers are left behind, there is often no chance of catching a tram into Blackpool for people catching a tram from anywhere near Gyn Square, and they are often so rammed that cash collection is impossible for conductors.

Are conductors on commission for ticket sales? If not, I can't see any reason why there hasn't been a bigger push towards off tram ticketing.

They could make some money by pushing more app sales for the tram tickets and then they can get the revenue even for fuller trams rather than relying on conductors getting to people on the tram to charge them.

I've less experience in Blackpool recently but I have been on West Midlands Metro which works off the same system and you really get to see how much revenue is lost both on short distance passengers if conductors are busy selling tickets, shorter distance people have more chance of getting away with not paying but as you say with trams being full.

Even if only a few people switch to off tram ticketing as well, checking/scanning tickets is much quicker than selling so the more that can be sold off tram, the quicker conductors can get to those who want to pay on the tram. It's just common sense.

Blackpool Transport really is baffling with how out of date it wants to be.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I wonder if Blackpool Transport have even had staff training courses in customer relations on the trams which would be run by the "special" Blackpool North railway station staff....

 

[Tramfan]

Hopefully the service quoted is the minimum all year round and extras will operate in the summer and for the Illuminations.

Unfortunately if the two routes are to give a combined 15min interval north and south of Manchester Square, then the two North Station routes are unlikely to connect to give an increased effective frequency between the Fleetwood line and the Promenade.

Certainly if it's to be an even 15 minute combined headway on both sections, then naturally the connection at North Station would be around about 25 mins (30 mins less the time taken to get from the prom to the station and back to slot in 15 mins after the full route service passes).

The 10 minute frequency often hasn't been sufficient on Saturdays in years gone by, with trams crushed full and constantly leaving people behind, so every 30 mins is an absolute disgrace.

 

[ValleyLines142]

British trams online are reporting that once the extension is open the services will be three route each running every 30 minuets

Starr Gate to Fleetwood Ferry
Starr Gate to North Station
North Station to Fleetwood Ferry

This will give a combined frequency from North Pier to Starr Gate and from North Pier to Fleetwood Ferry every 15 minuets as now but anyone wanting to do a through journey for example from Bispham to Pleasure Beach will only see a 30 minuet service.

Passengers may be able to change between trams at North Station but timings have not been confirmed.

If the above is all correct and assuming that no extra short journeys run then it makes you wonder why they purchased two extra Flexity trams? When these, the extension and in fact the whole tramway modernisation was planned we were promised a much better service than this.

It's all a bit disappointing in my opinion and I fear there will be overcrowded trams this summer.

That is absolutely abysmal.

 

[Robertj21a]

British trams online are reporting that once the extension is open the services will be three route each running every 30 minuets

Starr Gate to Fleetwood Ferry
Starr Gate to North Station
North Station to Fleetwood Ferry

This will give a combined frequency from North Pier to Starr Gate and from North Pier to Fleetwood Ferry every 15 minuets as now but anyone wanting to do a through journey for example from Bispham to Pleasure Beach will only see a 30 minuet service.

Passengers may be able to change between trams at North Station but timings have not been confirmed.

If the above is all correct and assuming that no extra short journeys run then it makes you wonder why they purchased two extra Flexity trams? When these, the extension and in fact the whole tramway modernisation was planned we were promised a much better service than this.

It's all a bit disappointing in my opinion and I fear there will be overcrowded trams this summer.

I sincerely hope that much of this is inaccurate, or at least shows only a very off-peak frequency.
Why bother running a tramway system if the service frequencies are abysmal?

 

[Andyh82]

Should realistically be every 20 mins for each of the three legs with extras across the middle Bispham to Pleasure Beach section

Or alternatively every 15 mins across the three legs with no extras

In the summer there should be trams running past the Tower in some form every 5 minutes

 

[Harvey B]

Should realistically be every 20 mins for each of the three legs with extras across the middle Bispham to Pleasure Beach section

Or alternatively every 15 mins across the three legs with no extras

In the summer there should be trams running past the Tower in some form every 5 minutes

Agreed. Although I think a 5 Minute frequency is too much to ask for if They aren't going to order extra trams, or use the B Fleet.

Should really be every 10 at the very most between June and October

 

[Tramfan]

It's now possible to plan a journey on the Blackpool Transport website for dates after the extension opens, which confirms the news story from British Trams Online that the service patterns will be half hourly

 

[Busaholic]

Wouldn't a through service every 15 minutes but diverting via North Station be preferable to this, or is there a logistical reason why that wouldn't be possible?

 

[JRT]

Wouldn't a through service every 15 minutes but diverting via North Station be preferable to this, or is there a logistical reason why that wouldn't be possible?

I'm sure all options for service patterns have been considered. The proposal covers all requirements including direct trips from Bispham to Pleasure Beach etc.

 

[Tramfan]

It doesn't provide the promised increased frequency on the promenade though. Presumably it can only be due to staffing shortages, as even a 10 min frequency has proven to be inadequate for the busy days time after time, year after year since the upgrade, particularly for the morning and evening hotel rush.

 

[Andyh82]

I’m surprised there is a staff shortage

You’d think Blackpool would be dominated by low quality low paid seasonal work. Driving a tram or even being a conductor with decent wages in a unionised industry would look to be much more attractive

 

[Cliveblackpool]

The Blackpool North service Pleasure Beach/ Bispham originally going to be every 20 minutes peak and 30 minute off peak.
Several questions etc may be answered on a previous thread - https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/blackpool-trams.120986/page-5
Can't find new timetables yet !

 

[Tramfan]

The Blackpool North service Pleasure Beach/ Bispham originally going to be every 20 minutes peak and 30 minute off peak.
Several questions etc may be answered on a previous thread - https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/blackpool-trams.120986/page-5
Can't find new timetables yet !

As the journey planner was showing route numbers (T1, T2, and T3) for the different journeys I was trying, I tried changing "tram" to "T1" in the URL of the timetable page, which seems to bring up the timetable for the extension.

https://www.blackpooltransport.com/routes/BLAC/T1?date=2024-06-18&direction=outbound

T1 is Fleetwood to Starr Gate
T2 is North Station to Starr Gate
T3 is Fleetwood to North Station

Hopefully these will be shown on the destination displays of the trams, if they're going to start numbering the routes

The Blackpool North service Pleasure Beach/ Bispham originally going to be every 20 minutes peak and 30 minute off peak.
Several questions etc may be answered on a previous thread - https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/blackpool-trams.120986/page-5
Can't find new timetables yet !

Personally, i think the plan proposed in post 135 of that thread is exactly what I'd hoped it would be - a 10 min Starr Gate to Fleetwood service, then departures from North Station every 10 mins alternating to Bispham and Pleasure Beach. Would have meant 6tph along the length of the prom direct, plus an extra 3tph each way.

 

[Cliveblackpool]

As the journey planner was showing route numbers (T1, T2, and T3) for the different journeys I was trying, I tried changing "tram" to "T1" in the URL of the timetable page, which seems to bring up the timetable for the extension.

https://www.blackpooltransport.com/routes/BLAC/T1?date=2024-06-18&direction=outbound

T1 is Fleetwood to Starr Gate
T2 is North Station to Starr Gate
T3 is Fleetwood to North Station

Many thanks for timetables. Not early enough for a friend who lives in Fleetwood! Otherwise change to tram running from Star Gate! That would be 2 fares!