Skip to main content

Blackpool tramway reaches five million passengers

Blackpool’s revamped tramway system is proving popular than ever, with ticket sales showing that five million journeys have been recorded so far since April 2016, building on the increases in passenger journeys since the tramway re-opened in 2012 and topping the five million passengers mark for the first time since 1994.
March 2, 2017 Read time: 1 min

Blackpool’s revamped tramway system is proving popular than ever, with ticket sales showing that five million journeys have been recorded so far since April 2016, building on the increases in passenger journeys since the tramway re-opened in 2012 and topping the five million passengers mark for the first time since 1994.

The news comes as work progresses to extend the tramway from the promenade up to Blackpool North train station.

Not only are more people using the tram network, but passenger satisfaction is also up; according to the latest figures by the Department for Transport,  96 per cent of people surveyed saying they enjoyed the experience.

The 11 mile tramway runs from Starr Gate in Blackpool up to Fleetwood Ferry, operating a service every ten minutes during the summer season.

It re-opened in 2012 following a major replacement of the track, creation of a new tram depot and arrival of 16 new Flexity2 trams. The new trams have level boarding, making them accessible for all disabled users, allowing for faster journey times and a more energy efficient service.

Related Content

  • Silos are last century’s thinking
    April 21, 2016
    After 45 years in transportation, Ken Philmus sees the need for major change in a sector currently ill-prepared to meet the challenge of funding and rapidly advancing technological change. Having worked in both the public and private sectors, Ken Philmus, currently senior vice president of transportation solutions at Xerox, appreciates both approaches, but times are changing and he believes the sector needs to change too. “I like trains, planes and automobiles but I love the concept of mobility and that’s w
  • Less travel aggravation to blunt Aggieland fans’ motivation
    June 17, 2016
    Returning travel times to normal within two hours of the end of a major football game was the challenge facing College Station, Adam Lyons explains how this was achieved. College Station, TX, also known as ‘Aggieland’, is located right in the middle of the Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston triangle making the city accessible to over 14 million Texans within less than a four-hour drive. One of the biggest draws to this area is Texas A&M University (TAMU) and the Aggie football games in the fall, mea
  • New data shows average speed enforcement halves A9’s casualty rates
    January 26, 2016
    New data published by transport Scotland indicates that accident and casualty rates on the A9 have fallen dramatically in the first year of operation of the new average speed cameras. From the beginning of November 2014 to October 2015, two fewer people have been killed and 16 fewer people have been seriously injured between Dunblane and Inverness, while the number of ‘fatal and serious accidents’ between the two towns is down by almost 59 per cent, with ‘fatal and serious casualties’ down by approximat
  • Bluetooth aids rail passenger monitoring
    April 12, 2013
    In an effort to reduce congestion and improve passenger flow at railway stations in the Netherlands, Danish software company Blip Systems and Dutch railway consultants NPC have teamed up to monitor passenger movements using Bluetooth and wi-fi tracking. In an eight-week study at Groningen railway station, Blip Systems has installed 22 of its BlipTrack sensors which anonymously detect wi-fi and Bluetooth-enabled devices such as mobile phones and laptops. The sensors will monitor passengers and transmit the