Cllr Paul Galley, local Conservative Councillor and Tramtown Volunteer Coordinator, has announced via his regular video updates that he has been informed by the new management at Blackpool Transport that Tramtown will not be reopening.
You will no doubt recall that Tramtown was closed at the start of 2026 shortly after an inspection took place of the wider engineering complex at Rigby Road Depot (comprising the Paint Shop, Body Shop and Fitting Shop – the latter of which housed the Tramtown exhibition).
After lots of toing and froing it was eventually stated that there was an electrical fault which needed repairs before it could reopen. To this end local MP Chris Webb (Labour, Blackpool South) awarded £50,000 worth of funding from the Pride of Place fund to go towards the electrical repairs. But since that announcement it had all gone quiet.
However, Cllr Galley has now said that at a recent meeting he had with the new Blackpool Transport Managing Director, Lea Harrison, and the new Head of Heritage it was confirmed that Tramtown would be unable to reopen in its previous location of the Fitting Shop because of the condition of the building. This looks set to bring to an end the current Tramtown attraction with Cllr Galley paying tributes to the volunteers who have helped to run it in recent years.
It should be remembered that it has been a long-term plan to demolish the engineering buildings as part of the redevelopment of the Rigby Road complex, which would see more space made available for a new fleet of electric buses. The Paint Shop and Body Shop have already been out of bounds for a couple of years after an ORR inspection. The long-term ambition had always been to upgrade the current main tram shed to house a tourist attraction.
It now appears that Blackpool Transport are returning to plan A again and are aiming to try and get funding for that work. No details of just where that funding would come from and if its likely have been released. In fact, there has been little of note regarding the development of a Tramtown attraction from Blackpool Transport or Blackpool Council for some time.
As we noted when we ran the articles in January following the initial closure of Tramtown, this closure has no direct impact in the short or medium term of the running of any heritage trams on the Promenade. It is longer-term that the loss of engineering facilities may be felt with major restorations and overhauls unlikely to be able to take place.
The trams which ran heritage tours in 2025 were maintained at Starr Gate Depot and any future operation is likely to do the same. There are currently three heritage cars there – Balloon 717 and the Illuminated Frigate remained there after the end of the 2025 Illuminations and were joined by Bolton 66 a few weeks ago. Starr Gate has capacity for around four heritage trams on top of the modern Flexity2 tram fleet.
No details of planned heritage tram running in 2026 have yet to be announced although its believed the move of 66 to Starr Gate is initially in connection with a planned tour for a group of American enthusiasts next month.
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