As you will have seen on these pages over the past few weeks there has been extensive trackworks taking place on the Blackpool Tramway – with the work taking more than twice the length than originally planned for – but this seems to be just the start as Blackpool Council are being asked to approve £900,000 worth of funding towards a £1.1 million project for further work.
There’s a common misconception that the complete tramway was relaid as part of the upgrade works which saw the Flexity trams start operating from the platforms at Easter 2012 but that wasn’t the case which much of the track havingbeen relaid in the years leading up to this. As a result some has now reached the time when it needs to be replaced for the continued safe operation of the tramway and to this end the Council are being asked to approve the funding.
A track survey recently took place and this identified a number of areas where work is required in the “short to medium term”. The bulk of the work would be replacement track but also what are described in an article in the Blackpool Gazette as “under run protection units” (which are needed at crossing points).
The work would cost £1.1 million in total with the remaining £200,000 coming from existing revenue.
No timescale has been given as to when these additional works would take place or where the track needs to be replaced. But presumably the majority of the work would take place in the “close season” which once things start to reopen in 2021 doesn’t look like being until early 2022 with the extension of the Illuminations again.