Douglas horse tramway to close

[52290]

Just announced on BBC North West News that the 140 year old Douglas Horse Tramway is to close permanently.

The Isle of Man horse tram service is to be terminated after 140 years, Douglas council has confirmed.

A spokesman for Douglas Borough Council said the service, which has been in existence since 1876, was "no longer financially viable".

The council said the decision had been taken "with very great regret" at a special meeting in Douglas on Thursday.

Last year the service, which runs along Lough Promenade, finished in September and ran at a loss of £263,000.

'Illustrious history'

The decision follows a proposal by the council to amalgamate the Tramway Terrace stables site with the tramway hub at the Strathallan site at an estimated cost of £2.9m.

The proposal had been to finance the scheme with a 30-year loan, which would have cost the council £4.8m over its life.

Last month it was decided that this scheme was "not financially viable"....

 

[Peter Mugridge]

This will result in a reduction in tourist income which, in the long term, may well exceed the £2.9m they are trying to save. The "old days" feel to the IoM is the biggest draw they have - and here they want to knock out the most visible part of it which also just happens to link the two railways on the island?

Madness!

 

[underbank]

The IOM govt isn't interested in tourism, after all, it's a dying industry in the UK. Modern IOM is all about it's tax haven status where both businesses and wealthy individuals base themselves to avoid high UK taxation. That's why there are so many offices for banks and finance institutions on the Island. There are many workers who live on the island and work in the UK. There are also lots of "head office service companies" where UK businesses are pretending to be based to pay low IOM corporation tax instead of higher UK corporation tax. Tourism is a side industry now. The high prices of the ferries and lack of day trips have also led to a ongoing drop in tourism, especially the day trip trade, the very people who were most likely to use those trams. I would imagine their Govt, residents and workers are all crapping their pants at the thought of the likelihood an end to these tax havens as a result of the Amazon, Starbucks, Facebook scandals that will inevitable filter down to the smaller people too. Concentrating too much on the tax avoidance industry and not helping the tourist industry could well come back to bite the island in years to come. After all, without tax haven status, there'd be far fewer residents and far fewer businesses that are only there due to the tax avoidance industry - it could well become a ghost island if the world's leaders manage to find a way of stopping tax avoidance havens and the island itself has given up on it's tourism.

 

[Welly]

If you asked nicely, you could actually go inside the stables! Like visiting an engine shed but with straw and muck instead of coal and ash on the floor!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I would imagine their Govt, residents and workers are all crapping their pants at the thought of the likelihood an end to these tax havens as a result of the Amazon, Starbucks, Facebook scandals that will inevitable filter down to the smaller people too. Concentrating too much on the tax avoidance industry and not helping the tourist industry could well come back to bite the island in years to come. After all, without tax haven status, there'd be far fewer residents and far fewer businesses that are only there due to the tax avoidance industry - it could well become a ghost island if the world's leaders manage to find a way of stopping tax avoidance havens and the island itself has given up on it's tourism.

They've already started the clampdown; it takes effect this year.

http://www.smith.williamson.co.uk/news/6122-uk-signs-tax-disclosure-facility-with-isle-of-man

The UK Government has agreed action with the Isle of Man as part of its clamp down on those attempting to hide their money offshore. The action plan includes an automatic tax information exchange agreement and the setting up of a disclosure facility. Details of that facility were posted on the Isle of Man and UK Government websites.

This agreement will mean that a wide range of financial information on UK taxpayers with accounts in the Isle of Man will be reported to HM Revenue & Customs automatically each year from 2016. It follows the recent UK-US FATCA agreement and continues the dramatic changes towards a co-operative and transparent environment in the offshore world.

 

[ALEMASTER]

Its a shame they cannot electrify and extend the MER down to the ferry terminal and perhaps have special days where horse drawn trams operate using hired in horses.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The IOM govt isn't interested in tourism, after all, it's a dying industry in the UK.

Where on earth did you get that from? If anything, UK tourism seems to be having somewhat of a resurgence - places like Llandudno are now not half as run down as they were in the 1990s - though it's more about weekend breaks than week-long summer holidays. Yeah, Rhyl's a dive, as is Colwyn Bay, but it always was.

Could volunteers take it over?

 

[Blindtraveler]

Any idea if it will opperate this year?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Any idea if it will opperate this year?

The press release says not.

 

[kevin5025]

This is terrible news. The tramway is a very important part of our railway history. At one time railways and tramways were often horse powered, but only the Douglas line remains. The council propose selling off the assests and destroying this part of our heritage. The Friends of the tramway have a petition against: http://www.friendsofdbht.org/ I think as a rail community we should support them. Here is a link to the petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/douglas-horse-tramway-to-be-scrapped-manx

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Signed.


And I've just spotted a glaring typo in my comment!!!

 

[Mikey C]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-35411096

Isle of Man horse trams: Committee to explore closure alternatives

There may be hope...