A temporary timetable is going to run on the Blackpool Tramway as from Wednesday 7th January 2026 to allow essential maintenance work to be undertaken on the fleet of Flexity2 trams. There will be two temporary timetables running – one from Wednesday 7th to Saturday 10th January and then another starting from Sunday 11th January.
The reason for the temporary reduction in the number of trams running is to accelerate a planned fleet maintenance programme. This had originally been planned to start from later in January – traditionally one of the quietest times of the year on the network – but after a routine inspection found that some trams needed more urgent upgrades to their suspension systems it has been decided to bring the work forward.
A spokesman from Blackpool Transport said: “We apologise to customers for such short notice of these service changes, but our engineers felt that doing the work now would reduce the risk of future disruption. By bringing forward the replacement of some components, we can ensure a robust service and prevent any unnecessary wear to other parts of the suspension.”
Further inspections on the trams will be taking place this week and to allow this a reduced timetable will start running on Wednesday 7th January, and carry on until Saturday 10th January.
This timetable will see:
- Daytime: Trams every 15 minutes between Starr Gate and Fleetwood direct
- Evening: Trams every 30 minutes between Starr Gate and Fleetwood direct
- A shuttle bus will operate a frequent service between North Station and North Pier
Then from Sunday 11th January the following timetable will be introduced until further notice:
- Daytime: Four trams an hour between Starr Gate and Fleetwood with alternate departures running via North Station (from Starr Gate these depart 00, 10, 30, 40 with return trips from Fleetwood at 00, 15, 30, 45
- Evening: Still sees approximately four trams an hour (departure times differ) until 2230 from Starr Gate when it drops to every half hour. The final service via North Station is 2150 from Starr Gate and 2140 from Fleetwood
The spokesman concluded: “Once again, we would like to apologise for any inconvenience, but customers can be assured we are doing everything we can to restore scheduled services as quickly as possible.”
- The timetable for 7th-10th January can be read here: https://images.blackpooltransport.com/downloads/Tramway_Digital_Timetable_7th10thJanuary26%20%283%29.pdf
- The timetable for 11th January onwards can be read here: https://images.blackpooltransport.com/downloads/Tramway_Digital_Timetable_11thJanuary26%20%283%29.pdf
Perhaps BTS could use cars from the Heritage Fleet to maintain the service whilst the Flexity cars are poorly?
( I am being ironic, or at least sarcastic, by the way! )
Compared to most of the past 40 years, the winter service provision from 11 January is excellent. It is also pleasing to see the faster running times compared to a couple of years ago – well done BTS.
Now we just need a decent heritage service to match!!