Could it finally, really be happening? Horse trams look set to return to the Sea Terminal for the first time since 2018 after members of Tynwald voted in favour of funding the re-extension.
The long saga of trams to the Sea Terminal has been going on basically ever since the last tram ran the full length of the Promenade. At the time of that last service it had been expected that it would only be for a shortish period of time as it had already been approved that the horse trams would be retained as part of the Promenade redevelopment. But the redevelopment ran into many snags and the budget was blown which meant the money previously assigned for the horse trams was diverted elsewhere.
Ultimately this left the horse tramway running along the original alignment between Derby Castle and Villa Marina where a temporary terminus was put in place at the side of the road. The rest of the tramway from there to the Sea Terminal (which was always planned to be single track at the side of the road instead of the original double track in the centre of the road) remained an aspiration but was continually put back with no funding available.
It became the topic of great debate but finally in 2026 things started to move forward with a business case being prepared for Tynwald. This revealed that it would need £2.5 million in funding (plus an additional £500,000 as a contingency) to put the tracks down from Villa Marina to the Sea Terminal.
It was requested that at the July sitting of Tynwald members would have the chance to vote on whether to release the funding and so it came to be. Fortunately for the horse tramway after debate all but one member voted in favour of the funding (Gary Clueit, Legislative Member being the only one to vote against it).
This should now mean that it is full steam, or should that be horse?!, ahead for the construction of the tramway through to the Sea Terminal. The business case suggested that it would take 40 weeks to complete the construction, meaning that if work starts later this year it could be that in 2027 trams are back at the Sea Terminal.
Of course, 2026 is the 150th anniversary of the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway and we can’t think of a better bit of news for the tramway than learning it is going all the way again!
So good news does still happen! For me, this is truly fantastic news. I think.the horse tramway is one of the most special.attractions the British Isles has to offer. So many visitors fall.under its spell and it has a huge appeal for families and people of all.ages who are not normally tram enthusiasts. The enthusiasm and warmth of the staff and their love for the horses is palpable. Definitely a national.treasure in my view, a term I don’t use lightly, and one that is no doubt spoken of around the world by the many foreign visitors that come on cruise ships etc. Also a delightful way of getting to know and experience Douglas seafront and great fun to use as a local.transport connection. Just going to and from the Villa Marina made it feel relegated to something of a relic (though people still enjoyed it), but covering the length of the superb crescent shaped promenade feeds neatly into the Manx Electric and Snaefell Mountain railways also, and forms a heritage transport system.without equivalent anywhere in the world.
I agree with Mr. Blake. As an American I prize my two visits to the Isle of Man and revel in the ‘time capsule’ nature of the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway, the Manx Electric Railway, the Isle of Man Steam Railways, and the Snaefell Mountain Railway. And then there are the Groudle Glen and Great Laxey Mine railways. Let us hope that the funding stays in place until the cars reach the Sea Terminal again.
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