It has been revealed that Blackpool Transport intend to use three members of the ‘B Fleet’ of modified Balloon cars in passenger service during 2015. These trams have been largely disused since the transformation of the Blackpool tramway into a modern light rail system despite hopes of more extensive use, making just a small handful of appearances over the past two years. Hopefully though, this situation may be set to change this summer.
In response to an enthusiast’s question regarding future plans for the use of the ‘B Fleet’ Balloons submitted to the official Blackpool Transport Twitter account, a comment was posted stating that three of the class will be used to help out at Bank Holidays and on busier weekends this season. It has not been confirmed whether the trams will be used on heritage tours or in normal service – or possibly a bit of both – although the implication seems to be that they could be used to supplement the core service operated by the Bombardier Flexity2 trams.
No mention has been made of which cars will be commissioned for service this year, but an educated guess would be that 700 and 711 are most likely to be used as these were the only two members of the ‘B Fleet’ which ran in 2014. 700 was the only one of the type to see service in Blackpool, running on three heritage tram event days, whereas 711 was used much more frequently, albeit on loan to Crich Tramway Village between April and October.
The level of openness and the willingness to answer customers’ questions being displayed by Blackpool Transport recently has been most impressive with this latest piece of information being a good example of this. The company is now really embracing the age of social media, with regular updates on any changes to advertised bus and tram service being provided on Twitter as well as interesting facts about the town and its transport, and of course details of upcoming events involving the heritage tram fleet. Hopefully this will continue and show that Blackpool Transport have definitely moved forward into the 21st century, complimenting its fleet of state-of-the-art trams perfectly.