A local Councillor who represents the Norbreck ward in Blackpool has claimed overcrowding on the tramway system could be putting passengers at risk of injury. Cllr Julie Sloman (Conservatives) has said that the issue has been mentioned to her by a constituent and she has then raised it at a full Council meeting.
Cllr Sloman has said that the constituent was concerned that overcrowding not only led to safety problems but also meant that conductors couldn’t collect all fares on board the tram.
In her address to the Council meeting, Cllr Sloman stated: “He also believes there is a potential safety issue if the tram had to stop suddenly, especially if elderly people were on board and could be injured. If a tram caught fire or there was an accident, people could die as they would panic and there are only two double doors to exit and there are often wheelchairs and prams near the doors.”
She has also said that although she has raised the issue with Blackpool Transport she hadn’t received an adequate response.
A spokesperson from Blackpool Transport is quoted in local media: “The safety of customers is our top priority. The capacity of our Flexity trams is around 220 customers, depending on the ratio of those standing or seated. Our trams are regularly monitored, and our onboard teams are trained to ensure that passengers travel as safely and comfortably as possible.
“We are committed to continually improving our services and working closely with the council and residents to ensure that Blackpool’s tram service remains safe, reliable, and accessible for everyone.”
The issue of Blackpool Tramway and overcrowding on board at trams is nothing new and has been seen over the past few years with the dreaded “Sorry Tram Full” seen on the outside of trams during busy periods (such as illumination weekends and when other high profile events take place in the resort). But with the current staffing level at Blackpool Transport its not clear how there can be a quick fix to increasing capacity in the timetable to prevent any overcrowding.
- In a week of local news stories on the Blackpool Tramway, The Gazette have also picked up on the fact that North Station is no longer served by trams after 1900 (only a month after it happened). It seems the catalyst for this has been a new sign added to the stop which says “TRAMS WILL NO LONGER SERVICE THIS STOP AFTER 7PM”. But it has at least got a response from Blackpool Transport who have said it is only a temporary measure during the Illuminations to avoid any delays with crossing the junction into Talbot Square.
Good to see this raised. Hopefully they will realise that overcrowding is a symptom and not the issue. The issue is the poor level of service. It needs to be 6 trams per hour over the full route, 3ph direct and 3ph via North Station with a supplementary service of 3 trams per hour Pleasure Beach to Little Bispham at times of peak loading
May I ask what the Maximum number of Vehcles required to run this sort of service would be?
A service like this would make the most sense but I fear it’d require 17 Trams to operate.
It leaves them in a position where they can only afford for one tram to be out of action at any given time so for this to becime reality, an extra 2 Flexities would need to be purchased to ease the pressure.
Remember that BTS also have 9 modified balloon cars which can be used to support the core service. The sole purpose of modifying them with widened centre entrances was that they would be used alongside the Flexity cars in normal service at busy times rather than as heritage cars. The bigger issue seems to be finding enough crews to operate a meaningful service.
Overcrowding on Blackpool’s trams is not an issue at all and this appears to be very dramatic bluster from a constituent who, presumably, does not use the trams.
Blackpool Transport’s crews are, if anything, over zealous when it comes to putting up the “Sorry Tram Full” destination.
A tram that is carrying a full load according to the stated capacity will cause issues with fare collection but a lot of people on the trams on which I travel have already got tickets purchased in advance.
There are four sets of doors on the trams and, let’s be honest, they never reach any appreciable speed in Blackpool, hence why with half of the stops that there were in the 1950s, a tenth of the trams out on the system than there were in the 1950s, the service takes much longer from end to end with modern trams travelling at a snail’s pace.
As to the trams not travelling to Blackpool North railway station in the evenings during the illuminations, this is unforgiveable. The whole point of the branch was so that people arriving and departing by train had access to the tramway. The only delays crossing the delta junction at North Pier are caused by heritage tram crews holding up the service trolleying the old trams through the junction. There are certainly no huge volumes of traffic and many less than there were in the peak season when cars blocking the inadequate box junction at Talbot Square/North Pier. It is just an excuse in my opinion.
On the other hand, taxi drivers who have lost out to the undoubted success of the tramway extension during the summer are now cashing it in with people needing to get to and from Blackpool North railway station. Another shot in the foot!
Delays on illuminations evening are nothing to do with Heritage Trams, its crossing the road, which only really applies at weekends.
Trams are vastly overcrowded at times but so are all our Tram systems, even with good frequencies.
NS is an excuse because they don’t have enough staff, plain and simple.
Where to start with this one… How many millions were invested in the North Station route again? How many millions in the so-called “upgrade” of the rest of the system? And we’re left with a transport system that obviously is not fit for purpose and can’t cope with the crowds, despite Blackpool being far quieter than it was, say, 30 years ago, before any of this upgrade nonsense happened! When Blackpool prom was a sea of holiday makers in the 50s and 60s there were no capacity problems. And there were certainly no split services or no service at all.
The thing about no service to North Station because trams can’t cross the prom is just a joke. How inept must the people who have worked on this project be not to be able to get this sorted. Again, the prom was way busier in years gone by and trams used to turn on and off the mmain line at multple locations between Starr Gate and Fleetwood.
Where else in the world is there a public transport system that shuts down at the busiest times when the public need it the most?
Overcrowding? Now that is a positive issue! It possibly needs addressing, but is soluble and potentially profitable. My solution would be: 1. Remove all parallel bus services and use buses to feed into the tramway. 2. Scrap the heritage service as it exits. 3. Repaint all B Fleet trams in an historic green livery and schedule them in, in fixed slots, to the main timetable. 4. Utilise the illuminated trams, in a non-passenger carrying role as a visual, moving part of the illuminations. 5. Concentrate on employing sufficient staff to maintain the required service level (illuminated trams cod be a volunteer effort).
I’m not sure if you are actually being serious or trying to be humorous.
1. there aren’t any parallel bus services – there is a partial parallel service hourly during the day.
2. Why? Its a few tours a day.
3. This was a plan which never got beyond discussion and does have some merit.
4. Don’t be ridiculous – no one in their right mind would run trams which don’t earn anything.
5. Agreed and Illuminations trams are already run by volunteers.
Point 3 I agree with entirely. Anything to get rid of that god awful purple!
Point 4 is interesting because the original illuminated trams (lifeboat, gondola and bandwagon) were not passenger carrying. Some were later modified to carry passengers by cutting doorways into them, which weakened their structure and led to their eventual downfall. Crich will never be forgiven for scrapping the lifeboat, which should and could have been restored.
Crich didn’t scrap the lifeboat. It’s remains were bought and stripped for parts which went to help preserve other trams. I well remember seeing what arrived at Crich and can assure you that there was nothing above the waist rail. There are other far more deserving candidates for preservation or conservation than Blackpool trams.
Andy you do know only 1 B fleet carries purple?
There are two – 711 and 719.
719 was pictured ages ago gathering dust in the paintshop having largely shed said purple though.. So Nick is correct only 711 currently carries the Blackpool Council Purple Waves Livery.
For all the correspondents who suggest the cause of any perceived overcrowding is the low service frequency, if as has been suggested staffing levels are at the root of the problem it is difficult to see how this can easily be resolved. Staff shortage in the public transport industry is a national problem at present as illustrated in Greater Manchester by the continued advertising for bus drivers. The idea that volunteer labour could be used on anything but heritage duties is a non-starter. Can you imagine the union reaction to that suggestion. I am sure BTS would be glad to be able to increase the level of service if they could. As for the argument regarding the crossing of the prom at North Pier in the evening during the illuminations I must admit that I find it hard to believe that the junction cannot cope with 4 crossings every 15 minutes. There are far busier signal controlled junctions in Manchester City Centre that cope with twice that number of trams every 12 minutes.
I have made my comments under “Events this week”
I will be driving to Fleetwood and intend coming in by tram for the fireworks – if there is any room. I just need to find somewhere convivial to pass the time before I try to get a tram back because as I get older standing waiting – probably in the cold and wet – is not as palatable as it ever was.
Was it only twelve years ago we had frequency and interest on the prom??
Well – we went – we travelled – we observed.
What a bloody shambles!
If you want to eat during the evening come down about four o clock – after that and you will just be a part of the crowd waiting about for things to happen at half past eight!
Arriving at North Pier at seven o clock we had an hour and a half wait. Want a coffee – cash only – and you will probably spend most of that time queuing.
The fireworks – brilliant – but by nine o clock the hordes are sweeping off the pier onto an already crowded prom. Not the most intense crowd I have experienced – but busy – very busy. We waited and followed on. Three BTS staff were doing their best on the northbound platform. Services to Little Bispham, Cleveleys and Fleetwood but no segregation of the queues and if you had a toddler to get to bed – God help you! There needed to be separate queues for the various services to get people away to best advantage. There also needs to be a a few empty cars sent north to pick up the poor people waiting fruitlessly for cars between North Pier and Bispham as they swept past full car after car. I don’t know how many Flexxities were out – but for sure there were no B Fleet and never have been. I was told the following day that no southbound service ran until 21.45 almost an hour after the fireworks finished. This isn’t public transport. It isn’t any sort of transport and the BTS management should be made to come out and see how they view the visitor experience on the coast in these conditions. Couple this with the Fleetwood habit of closing up at six and post fireworks food was a takeaway or nothing. Why do we Brits put up with this? As to the heritage cars – like the rest of the fleet they are unwashed, unloved, and apparently unavailable. 700 back in its box at four o clock. The Frigate and the Train are not an illuminations service – they are a click and collect minimsation of the experience. Sorry – vastly unimpressed!
I fail to see how food and drink is in any way attributed to BTS. Common sense in 2024 tells you this will be a problem.
How can you segregate queues with Flexities and on current platforms???
B fleet rarely run, there’s no staff!! They have run a handful of weekend days this year. Any spare staff should take out a Flexity first (unless they are Heritage only trained).
You do know its the Council who are insisting on the split service? Not BTS.
As for illumination tours agreed they are a disgrace, if you haven’t booked months in advance, forget it. Again no staff – where has the army of volunteers gone?
Regarding the “army of volunteers” the “well of goodwill” will eventually run dry if too much is taken from it without any care or consideration. Perhaps it is getting close to that?