The chances are many of you out there have been pondering how good it would be to have a Coronation Car running in time for King Charles III’s Coronation (scheduled to take place on Saturday 6th May 2023). Well, if you have you are not alone as the Fylde Transport Trust and Blackpool Transport Services have been thinking the very same! And if plans now in place come to fruition it is hoped that the FTT’s Coronation Car 304 could be running by next May – although there remains various caveats involved before it can be guaranteed.
As many will be aware 304 – owned by the Fylde Transport Trust but currently stored at Blackpool Transport’s Rigby Road Depot – is the only remaining VAMBAC fitted member of the class and it is this equipment which has caused a great deal of conversation as to how to make sure the tram can operate safely on the Blackpool Tramway in the 21st century. It has been decided that an emergency braking solution would be required and the FTT and Blackpool Transport have been discussing this over the past few weeks to come up with an acceptable solution.
The FTT have now confirmed that after discussions the two parties have reached an agreement and wanting to waste no time they have started to place orders for the required equipment (some electronic items have a long lead time for delivery).
Whilst this is by no means a guarantee that the tram will be able to run by the time of the Coronation it is a step in the right direction to return the tram to operation for the first time since 2014.
In a statement on their Facebook page the FTT said: “Many people have made the comment that with a coronation planned for 2023 it would be good to have a Coronation tram running, and this was always the case. Rest assured that having 304 operational on the day of the King’s coronation is one of the priorities of both the FTT and BTS.”