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Councillors approve Blackpool Tramway extension

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Chris125

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Blackpool Councillors approve North Station tram extension

One of the best pieces of news concerning any British tramway so far in 2014, is the announcement that Blackpool Council have voted in favour of extending the town’s famous tramway to North Station. This will provide an invaluable link to the main line railway network, and also offers the opportunity to fully integrate all of the town’s main public transport, with the potential to create a bus, tram and train interchange now more likely to become a reality than ever before.

Chris
 
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PaxVobiscum

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I like this bit:

This will see trams leave the promenade at North Pier using the points which were installed a few years ago as part of the tramway upgrade, and run along Talbot Road to access the main railway station in the town centre. This is already being hailed as a massive turning point for public transport in Blackpool, and will allow visitors and commuters to transfer directly between heavy rail and light rail.

Or should that have been "...hailed as a massive turnout (point)..." :D
 

radamfi

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Are trams going to run direct from Starr Gate to Blackpool North, or from Fleetwood to Blackpool North, or both?
 

Chris125

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Are trams going to run direct from Starr Gate to Blackpool North, or from Fleetwood to Blackpool North, or both?

I'm sure that has yet to be decided, after all this won't be opening for a few years yet.

Chris
 

Simon11

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I'm slightly worried that the project managers can't add up.... From BBC News

"Funding for an £18.2m extension to Blackpool's tram system is in place after the town's council agreed to pay the remaining £4.7m towards the scheme."

"The Department for Transport is providing £16.4m of the funding."

Hmm, by my calculations 4.7+16.4 is greater than 18.2!
 

WatcherZero

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BBC seems to be conflating Blackpool contribution Lancashire CC contribution and Government contribution numbers. Blackpool Council is only required to contribute £1.8m.
 

edwin_m

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A connection to Fleetwood is more important than one to Starr Gate, since the area north of Blackpool doesn't have easy access to the rail network. Those parts of Blackpool close to the Promenade tramway are mostly also reasonably close to either North station or one of the stations on the Blackpool South line. However I'd guess the year route service would serve both - perhaps a through service reversing at the station - with the Promenade extras remaining on the Promenade.
 

kylemore

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In the BBC report councillor Jones is quoted as saying that of course the "Business Case" would take "3 years" with construction only taking 6 months as if this was perfectly understandable.

Good God no wonder we can get nothing done in the UK when the "Business Case" for a mile long tram line takes 3 YEARS - at the most it should take 3 Months and the extension could have been open next season.
 

WestCoast

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A connection to Fleetwood is more important than one to Starr Gate, since the area north of Blackpool doesn't have easy access to the rail network. Those parts of Blackpool close to the Promenade tramway are mostly also reasonably close to either North station or one of the stations on the Blackpool South line. However I'd guess the year route service would serve both - perhaps a through service reversing at the station - with the Promenade extras remaining on the Promenade.

Absolutely, a direct tram link from Blackpool North Station to the population centres of Bispham, Cleveleys and Fleetwood will be of great value. This demand is mainly from locals rather tourists, which the line towards Starr Gate mainly caters for.

However, the council have just resurfaced a lot of the roads around North Station so this decision is attracting quite a bit of criticism from those who see it as further disruption to the Town Centre. However, I think in the long run it can only benefit the local economy.
 
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