Conceived as a bit of fun at the end of the year the British Trams Online Tram of the Year originally sought to find the tramcar which had done something "special" over the previous 12 months. There has never been a full definition of what "special" actually means in this case but over the years tramcars which have won have had a repaint, entered service after a repaint or gone on loan away from their home tramway to name but there examples.

In 2012 the contest was expanded to include two new categories - Event of the Year and Tramway of the Year - and then in 2014 a fourth category was voted for the first time - Tram (Modern) of the Year. 2023 saw the Tramway of the Year category split with one for heritage/museums and one for modern operating systems.

At the start of December (very end of November this year because of how the calendar falls) each year nominations are opened for a week to allow anyone to put forward suggestions for each of the categories before our "expert panel" (which is probably neither expert nor a panel!) convene to make a decision of what should be on the final shortlist, with each category normally having up to five items to vote on. Voting takes place for approximately four weeks between December and January and we then name the lucky winners.

The original award for “Tram (Heritage) of the Year” saw it return to the Isle of Man again with Manx Electric Railway trailer 50 receiving the most votes. The trailer returned to service during 2025, for the first time since 1978 after a restoration completed as part of a project between volunteers and paid staff from Isle of Man Railways. This is the fifth time that a tram from the Manx Electric Railway has won this award, although it will have some way to catch-up Blackpool!

The excellent restoration of the Telford Steam Tram which returned to action during 2025 came into second place, with a pair of trams at Crich making up the shortlist in the form of London County Council 1 and Blackpool & Fleetwood 40.

“Tram (Modern) of the Year” was a relatively close contest but in the end it was a tram as opposed to a light rail/Metro which came away as the winner. That was Manchester Metrolink 3027 which had made it onto the shortlist after returning to service after almost six years out of use. The Docklands Light Railway proved to be more popular than the Tyne and Wear Metro as well with 209 coming into second and 555 021 in third, both having been shortlisted for being first of their class into service.

“Tramway/Museum of the Year” saw a retention for the first time ever as you decided that the East Anglia Transport Museum deserved the accolade. The EATM has now won this category for three out of the past four years! It was just over 55% of the vote that they won, with Crich Tramway Village the other shortlisted location coming into second.

The winner of “Tramway (Modern) of the Year” is likely to be controversial amongst some as the Blackpool Tramway won the most votes, but only by 10! It won 38% of the vote after there were significant improvements on the core tram service during 2025. Manchester Metrolink was just pipped to the post and then Edinburgh Trams came in third.

And “Event of the Year” is the second award of the year to head across to the Isle of Man with the Manx Heritage Transport Festival winning, but in the closest of all the categories it was by just four votes! It beat the Seaside Event at the East Anglia Transport Museum, whilst Crich’s Tram Weekend was third and the 55th Anniversary Gala Weekend at Seaton Tramway was fourth.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to submit a vote this year, and congratulations to all of the winners! As always any duplicate votes have been removed from the final count, although this made no difference to any positions – the results are provided below.

That was 2025, and now with 2026 underway we can start to think of what may end up shortlisted when the contest probably returns at the end of November 2026!

Manx Electric Railway 50 – 149 votes (39.21%)
Telford Steam Tram – 103 votes (27.11%)
London County Council 1 – 78 votes (20.53%)
Blackpool & Fleetwood 40 – 50 votes (13.16%)

20 votes removed due to multiple votes (caused no change to ranking)

Tram (Modern) of the Year

Manchester Metrolink 3027 – 116 votes (39.73%)
Docklands Light Railway 209 – 90 votes (30.82%)
Tyne and Wear Metro 555 021 – 86 votes (29.45%)

15 votes removed due to multiple votes (caused no change to ranking)

Tramway/Museum of the Year

East Anglia Transport Museum - 216 votes (55.96%)
Crich Tramway Village - 170 votes (44.04%)

19 votes removed due to multiple votes (caused no change to ranking)

Tramway of the Year (Modern)

Blackpool Tramway – 114 votes (38.38%)
Manchester Metrolink – 104 votes (35.02%)
Edinburgh Trams – 79 votes (26.60%)

15 votes removed due to multiple votes (caused no change to ranking)

Event of the Year

Manx Heritage Transport Festival 154 votes (37.29%)
East Anglia Transport Museum Seaside Event – 150 votes (36.32%)
Crich Tramway Village Tram Weekend – 68 votes (16.46%)
Seaton Tramway 55th Anniversary Gala Weekend – 41 votes (9.93%)

20 votes removed due to multiple votes (caused no change to ranking)

Votes received from the same IP address are considered a multiple vote. In these cases the first set of votes are accepted with all subsequent votes removed from the final rankings.

Tram (Heritage) of the Year

Blackpool & Fleetwood 40
Returning to service during Tram Weekend, Box Car 40 had last been seen in use at Crich during 2022. Its return during the month that the Blackpool Tramway reached its 140th anniversary, it was an apt tram to be used during Tram Weekend and it was great to see a representative of the Blackpool and Fleetwood Tramroad back in action once again.

London County Council 1
This may seem a bit of a strange nomination as it was on the shortlist last year, but it makes it onto the list again after an uncertain start to the year. It was first announced that there were issues during commissioning of the tram which needed investigation, but the Workshop team once again did incredible work to get through these and “Bluebird” was back in service again in 2025 after all.

Manx Electric Railway 50
Another volunteer/paid staff led restoration on the Manx Electric Railway saw trailer 50 return to service during the annual Manx Heritage Transport Festival. Whilst we are used to trams returning to service after restoration this was a bit more special as it was first time it had been used since 1978 – a full 47 year absence!

Telford Steam Tram
Possibly the first 2’ gauge tram to feature on the shortlist, the Telford Steam Tram (and its associated carriage) returned to service in 2025 after an overhaul and restoration. Dating from 1979, it had been out of use since 2019 when it had to withdrawn requiring work and this had been completed over the past few years allowing its return to action. It was officially returned to service on 24th August 2025 with television presenter Tim Dunn doing the honours and naming it Thomas Telford.

Tram (Modern)/Light Rail Vehicle of the Year

Docklands Light Railway 209
As with so many new rail fleets in the UK, the introduction of the new trains for the DLR has been much delayed but 2025 finally saw the first of the B23s carry passengers. 209 became the first to be used on 30th September 2025, with it in service between Woolwich Arsenal and Stratford International. Issues with one of the trains not stopping at a station in wet weather has since seen the fleet grounded again.

Manchester Metrolink 3027
We have seen several trams on various UK systems spend prolonged periods out of service but Metrolink’s M5000 3027 probably takes the award (so far) of the tram which has been out of action for the longest. It spent a grand total of 2094 days out of service following a RTC on the Airport line on 16th May 2019, before it returned to service on 7th February 2025.

Tyne and Wear Metro 555 021
Another first into service for the shortlist, and one you need a good memory to remember as it was way back on 18th December 2024 that 555 021 became the first of the Stadler built trains to enter service on the Tyne and Wear Metro. Since that historic occasion a further 26 of the units have been used in service, with 20 more still to come in 2026.

Tramway/Museum (Heritage) of the Year

Crich Tramway Village
After 2024 was a spectacular year with two trams returning to service after restoration and overhaul, 2025 was more a year of consolidation and work behind the scenes at Crich. They did welcome three new trams as the “Merseyside 3” arrived to become permanent members of the collection, although they all need assessment before being prepared for service. Major work took place on the trams with a programme of arc chute replacement, and excellent progress was made in the Workshop with the restoration of Blackpool 298 with the new Access Tram, Blackpool 645 having work started on it as well.

East Anglia Transport Museum
Another excellent year for the East Anglia Transport Museum as they continue to attract visitors to their museum with a varied programme of events. Its not just the front of house tram, trolleybus and railway operation which is deserving of the nomination but also continued work in the workshops. This included the reunification of the two decks of Glasgow 488 and progress on an overhaul for Amsterdam 474.

Tramway (Modern) of the Year

Blackpool Tramway
Yes, this is bound to be a controversial nomination but it should be remembered that this category is solely for the operation of the modern core tramway service, run by the fleet of Flexity2 trams. After a bit of a shaky start in 2024 when the North Station extension opened, 2025 has seen a completely revised timetable introduced which provides a far better service for through journeys as well as onto the extension. On top of that there has been a concerted effort in tidying up the trams themselves with expired adverts removed and a glut of new advertising contracts added as well.

Edinburgh Trams
The tramway has continued to prove itself a valuable part of the public transport system in the Scottish capital with record-breaking passenger numbers and enhanced services on busy days. The extension to Newhaven has now been running for over two years and has proven itself to be an excellent addition making the trams even more useful for those travelling around the city.

Manchester Metrolink
It’s the UK’s biggest tramway and 2025 has been another good year for Metrolink. Passenger numbers are up once again and the future looks bright with investment in the infrastructure continuing as major trackworks took place throughout the summer. And if Andy Burnham has his way we will be enjoying even more trams across Greater Manchester in the years to come.

Event (Heritage/Modern) of the Year

Crich Tramway Village – Tram Weekend
It’s a firm fixture in the special event calendar for tram enthusiasts but Tram Weekend has become so much more than that with the general public also enjoying what it has to offer. With a very regular tram service and unique photo opportunities what’s not to like!

East Anglia Transport Museum – Seaside Event
A new event for 2025 saw the museum site in Carlton Colville turned into the seaside! From a tram perspective that saw three Blackpool trams in service but as always at the EATM its not just about the trams with a wide variety of seaside trolleybuses in action too. The highlight of that included the stunning Bournemouth open-top trolleybus 202 in action on both days. And the sun shone too!

Manx Heritage Transport Festival
2025 was another classic year for the Heritage Transport Festival on the Isle of Man. Featuring events on all heritage lines across the island, highlights on the MER included that return to service of trailer 50, the usual parallel runs, photo specials and an intensive service to finish the event off. Tram displays were also seen on the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway with a special photo line-up on the Snaefell Mountain Railway too.

Seaton Tramway – 55th Anniversary Gala Weekend
The August Bank Holiday weekend usually marks the anniversary of the Seaton Tramway and with 2025 marking 55 years since 8 ran the very first passenger trip a special gala weekend took place. This saw depot tours and over the course of two days every single operational passenger tram in service.

Whilst it is probably fair to say 2025 has hardly been a classic year for trams across the British Isles, as we reach the end of November it is time to start thinking about the British Trams Online Tram of the Year contest once again! We will again be looking for nominations into five categories: “Tram (Heritage)”, “Tram (Modern)”, “Tramway/Museum”, “Tramway (Modern)” and “Event” of the Year.

The nomination period will be open for one week with the deadline for any nominations being Saturday 6th December 2025. Voting will then opens on Sunday 7th December 2025 and will remain open for four weeks until the morning of Saturday 3rd January 2025. The qualifying period for nominations this year is between the first weekend in December 2024 and the last weekend in November 2025 (i.e. it has to have already happened for it to qualify!).

We will be looking to find winners in the following categories (if there are no obvious contenders in any categories that particular category may not go forward to the voting stage):

Tram (Heritage) of the Year
Last 3 Winners: Blackpool 634, Manx Electric Railway 19, Blackpool 159

Yes, it has definitely been a difficult year for heritage trams in the British Isles so this may be a hard category to think of nominees but we are looking for the heritage tram which has done something out of the ordinary in the past 12 months. It could be that its operated away from its home tramway, re-entered service after overhaul/restoration or maybe there is a smaller preservation group out there who you think should be rewarded for their work on a particular tram.

Tram (Modern) of the Year
Last 3 Winners: Blackpool 018, Edinburgh Trams 258, Blackpool 011

Has there been a modern tram which has done something special in 2025? It could have received a new livery or a special advert which gave that wow factor or maybe it was the first tram to run on a new line? Or did it even run in service for the first time in a long while?

Tramway/Museum (Heritage) of the Year
Last 3 Winners: East Anglia Transport Museum, Manx Electric Railway, East Anglia Transport Museum

This category is looking for which heritage tramways/museums has had a special year over the past 12 months. What that something special may be is entirely up to – just remember to give reasons why!

Tramway (Modern) of the Year
Last Winner: Manchester Metrolink, Edinburgh Trams

We are looking for a modern tramway which has had a good year – whether that’s a because of something specific which happened this year or even just a system which continues to prove its popularity its up to you!

Event of the Year
Last 3 Winners: East Anglia Transport Museum: Blackpool Event, Isle of Man Year of the Railways Transport Festival, Blackpool Jubilee Tram Parade

A category which can cover both heritage and modern tramways (although has been heavily dominated by heritage lines in the past!). It could be a special event on a heritage tramway but could equally be the opening of a new line or an improved service on one of the modern operating tramways across the British Isles.

Its now over to you to contribute to what could end up on the shortlist for each category. Get your brains thinking on what you think deserves to be nominated this year and you can then submit your nominations as follows:

* Leave a comment on the News page
* Email gareth@britishtramsonline.co.uk
* Comment on Facebook at facebook.com/BritishTramsOnline