The third of Blackpool’s new trams arrived in the town on the morning of Friday 9th December, being unloaded on the headshunt at the new Starr Gate depot complex. The identity of this tram is not known for certain as the car is unbranded, but it is believed to be 005. The tram was swiftly unloaded and was then driven inside under its own power. It had actually been due to be delivered a day earlier, but its arrival was delayed by severe storms which prevented it from being docked at Hull until the weather had improved.
Meanwhile, the other two Flexity2 class trams already in Blackpool – cars 001 and 004 – have both been spotted out and about on test on several occasions recently, although 004has not yet received its external livery vinyls and fleet numbers, so if both this and 005 remain in this condition things could get very confusing! There have been some issues
with at least one reported breakdown involving one of the new trams, however this is perfectly normal for any new vehicles and the lengthy testing period should hopefully mean that any issues can be ironed out before the cars are launched into passenger service in April 2012.
In other news, testing of the Flexity2 class is now restricted to the Starr Gate – Pleasure Beach section due to trackwork being carried out at the Pleasure Beach. It has been found that the rails have been laid too close together to allow the new cars to pass safely with the minimum required clearance, and so the southbound line is being lifted and moved slightly. This is the first new trackwork job to be tackled so far this winter, in spite of the prolonged closure of the tramway to all passenger services since 7th November.
Report by Andrew Waddington