Nine months since the last passengers departed the old Seaton terminus the new look modernised terminus building has opened to the public with all tram services once again running from Seaton to Colyton. The brand new terminus is two metres higher than previously and provides fully covered accommodation for both trams and visitors – no more waiting in windswept conditions for the tram to arrive!
The aim of £3 million project was to provide a building which was not only more in keeping with the area – which has seen a lot of investment in recent years including the construction of Seaton Jurassic and a Tesco superstore – but also provided a better area to wait for trams. As well as the four track terminus – with four trams set to be displayed here every night when the building will be illuminated – there is a café (named Claude’s after the Claude Lane, the inspiration behind the tramway) and gift shop.
Thursday 28th June was the day the station opened with 11 the tram chosen to form the first service at 1000. Also present in the terminus at the launch were 12 and giving some local connection, the ex-Exeter tramcar, 19.
Stationmaster Gilbert was also on hand to welcome the first passengers with the first 1,000 also due to receive a commemorative poster.
There is no doubt that the far more modern surroundings will take some getting used to for many as it is very different to that which came before. However, the days of visitors wanting to wait in the open with very little shelter for the next tram to arrive are long gone as a poor experience one time may mean that don’t return again and first impressions go a long way to forming repeat visitors.
With the new terminus now open the behind the scenes tours at Riverside Depot have ended with visitors now starting or ending their journey at the all the new Seaton terminus.
I fail to understand how a covered terminus hiding the trams from view and so giving far less visible attraction is required for an open top tram ride alongside a river. if they got windswept waiting they certainly would have found the ride far worse! Will passengers now sue when the tram goes out into the open air and it’s less than glorious? Even worse I hear from people there that Alan and Sue Gardner had to watch from Tesco’s despite Alan having made Seaton what it is. I wa
s utterly disgusted to hear that!
I must admit I’ve never been a fan of arrangements which hide the Trams from view. It does provide a more hospitable waiting area for winter I suppose.
I saw it on the local TV news. I thought the new terminus looked very similar to and about as hideous as the Tesco store next door to it