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

  • May 27, 2014
    Activu and Mitsubishi give New Jersey controllers the big picture
    Mitsubishi and Activu team up to help New Jersey emergency centre with real-time situational awareness. Sandy was the largest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history, with winds spanning an area of 1,100 miles and damages estimated at $68 billion. It killed at least 286 people in seven countries, from Jamaica to the Jersey Shore. But tropical storms are not the only challenge for emergency operations up and down the East Coast.
  • February 26, 2015
    IAM responds to illegal phone use study
    The UK’s Institute of Advanced Motorists has responded to the Department for Transport study carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) into the prevalence of illegal mobile phone use while driving, saying that the results are disappointing but not at all surprising. The figures show that, in 2014, 1.1 per cent of drivers in England and Scotland were observed holding a phone in their hand with a further 0.5 per cent observed holding the phone to their ear, equating to more than 470,000 motorists
  • January 20, 2012
    Social media a one-stop shop for travel information
    Exponentially widening mobile phone ownership is opening up the field to new ways of obtaining and disseminating better travel information from and to public transport users, via for example social media and tracking riders' phones. Over 50 US transit agencies, including major actors such as TriMet, in the metropolitan area of Portland, Oregon, Dallas Area Rapid Transit in Texas, and San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), as well as smaller operators, now have Facebook and/or Twitter accoun
  • March 1, 2016
    Convictions up but many still drug-driving
    As the Department for Transport confirms a six-fold increase in the number of people caught drug-driving, a survey by road safety charity Brake and Direct Line Insurance reveals huge numbers of drivers and passengers are still taking dangerous risks when it comes to drugs. The survey indicates that one in 14 drivers, or seven per cent admit they drive at least once a month after having taken drugs.