Tram systems in Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort on England's Lancashire coast, overlooking the Irish Sea. Its seafront, piers, Blackpool Tower, Pleasure Beach and Illuminations have attracted visitors for generations. The tramway is part of that resort landscape, running beside many of its best-known attractions.
Blackpool North is the town's principal railway station. A tram stop beside it connects rail passengers with the seafront; Blackpool South is served by a separate railway line. Buses provide connections across Blackpool and the surrounding Fylde Coast, while the tramway links destinations along the coast between Starr Gate and Fleetwood.
Blackpool's electric tramway opened in 1885 and has remained a distinctive part of the town's transport system. Today's regular service uses modern low-floor trams on an approximately 11-mile (18-kilometre) route from Starr Gate through Blackpool, Bispham and Cleveleys to Fleetwood Ferry. The route follows the Promenade through much of Blackpool before continuing north through the neighbouring coastal communities.
The tramway was modernised in 2012, when low-floor trams replaced the historic vehicles on regular services. A short branch along Talbot Road opened to passengers in June 2024, connecting the Promenade route with Blackpool North station. Some through services call at the station, while others remain on the direct route.
Blackpool retains a collection of historic tramcars for heritage use. Heritage passenger tours are currently paused while vehicles undergo repairs and safety work. Blackpool Transport intends to bring them back, although it has not announced a return date.
Blackpool currently has 1 tram line, details of which can be found on the Lines tab.
Blackpool Transport Services Limited operates the tramway and the town's principal bus network. It is wholly owned by Blackpool Council.
The Blackpool Transport website provides a tramway map and service information, including current timetables.
Blackpool's tramway opened on 29 September 1885, running for approximately two miles along the Promenade between Cocker Street and South Shore. It was one of Britain's earliest electric street tramways. Its first cars drew power from a conduit beneath the roadway, an arrangement that proved troublesome when wind-blown sand entered the channel.
Blackpool Corporation took over the tramway in 1892 and expanded it as the resort grew. The conduit system was replaced by overhead wires towards the end of the century.
A separate Blackpool and Fleetwood Tramroad opened in 1898. It ran north from the area around Blackpool North station through Bispham and Cleveleys to Fleetwood. At first, it was not physically connected to the Promenade tramway. Blackpool Corporation acquired the tramroad in 1920 and joined the two systems at Gynn Square, creating a continuous coastal route.
The Corporation also developed routes away from the seafront. For much of the twentieth century, Blackpool's trams served both the resort's visitors and everyday journeys through the town.
Blackpool repeatedly renewed its trams while retaining the character of the system. A major programme in the 1930s introduced streamlined single-deck railcoaches, open-top Boat cars and the double-deck trams that became known as Balloons. Later additions and rebuilds kept a varied fleet in regular use for decades.
The tramway also became an attraction in its own right. Sightseeing and illuminated tram tours added to the familiar sight of trams carrying passengers along the Promenade.
As buses took over more local journeys, Blackpool's inland tram routes closed. Services on Lytham Road ended in 1961, those through Marton in 1962, and the Dickson Road route to North Station in 1963. The coastal route between Starr Gate and Fleetwood survived, leaving Blackpool with a working tramway long after most British towns had abandoned theirs.
Traditional trams continued to provide Blackpool's regular service into the twenty-first century. By then, however, the tramway needed substantial investment in its track, stops and vehicles to secure its future as an accessible public transport route.
The traditional fleet's final day as the regular service was 6 November 2011. Following a major reconstruction, the tramway reopened in April 2012 with modern low-floor Flexity trams and rebuilt stops. Many older vehicles were retained for preservation and heritage tours.
The network expanded again in June 2024, when a new branch along Talbot Road opened to fare-paying passengers. It restored a tram connection to Blackpool North station for the first time since the closure of the former North Station route in 1963.
Blackpool currently has 1 tram line, which is listed below. To see more information about a particular line, click on the link in the table below.
| Line | Description |
|---|---|
| T1 | The Blackpool Tramway runs between Starr Gate and Fleetwood Ferry via Blackpool North Station |
Blackpool's tramway uses standard-gauge track (1,435 mm) and is powered by 600 V direct current from overhead wires. The main route extends for approximately 11 miles (18 kilometres) between Starr Gate and Fleetwood Ferry. Much of the line runs on its own alignment alongside the Promenade and the coast, while trams also run through streets in Fleetwood.
The route includes stretches of double track and a single-track loop through the centre of Fleetwood. Turnback loops elsewhere allow trams to reverse direction without changing ends. The branch from North Pier to Blackpool North station is approximately 600 metres long and has two tracks; its terminus allows trams to depart towards either Starr Gate or Fleetwood.
Stops on the modernised tramway have platforms designed for level boarding with the low-floor trams. The regular fleet is housed and maintained at the purpose-built Starr Gate depot, which opened as part of the 2012 upgrade.
Regular services use 18 Bombardier Flexity 2 trams. Sixteen were supplied for the 2012 reopening, with two more joining the fleet in 2017. Each is a five-section, bi-directional, fully low-floor tram approximately 32 metres long. Cabs at both ends allow the vehicles to reverse at Blackpool North without a turning loop.
Blackpool also retains historic trams of several designs, including single-deck and double-deck vehicles. These belong to the heritage collection rather than the fleet used for everyday services.