Blackpool Tramway

Blackpool Tramway
A Bombardier Flexity 2 and a Balloon double-decker at North Pier
Operation
LocaleBlackpool, Fleetwood, and the Fylde Coast, England
Open29 September 1885; 139 years ago (1885-09-29)
StatusOpen
Lines3
Routes
Owner(s)Blackpool Council
Operator(s)Blackpool Transport
Infrastructure
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification600 V DC Overhead lines
Stock
Statistics
Route length18 km (11.2 mi)[1]
Stops40[3]
2023/244.7 million[2]
Decrease 4.1%
Websitewww.blackpooltransport.com Edit this at Wikidata
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Blackpool Tramway

The Blackpool Tramway runs from Blackpool to Fleetwood on The Fylde in Lancashire, England. The line dates back to 1885 and is one of the oldest electric tramways in the world.[6] It is operated by Blackpool Transport Services (BTS) and runs for 18 km (11 miles).[1] It carried 4.7 million passengers in 2023/24.[2]

It is the second-oldest electric tramway in the United Kingdom, the first being Volk's Electric Railway in Brighton, which opened two years earlier and similarly runs on a reserved track along the seafront. These are also the two surviving first-generation town tramways in the UK, though the majority of services on the line have since 2012 been operated by a fleet of modern Bombardier Flexity 2 trams. A 'heritage service' using the traditional trams operates year-round on weekends, certain weekdays and bank holidays, as well as during the Blackpool Illuminations. Excluding museums, it is one of only a few tramways in the world to still use double-deck trams, the others including Hong Kong and Alexandria, Egypt.

  1. ^ a b "Route kilometres open for passenger traffic on light rail and trams and undergrounds by system: Great Britain – annual from 1995/96". UK Government Department for Transport. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Light rail and tram statistics, England: year ending March 2024". Department for Transport. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Tram Fleetwood to Starr Gate". Blackpool Transport Services Ltd. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Tram Fleetwood to Starr Gate". Blackpool Transport Services Ltd. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours". Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Blackpool trams". thetrams.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2007.