As feared, it has been confirmed that the Blackpool tramway is set to be heavily disrupted for the first two nights of the 2013 illuminations season. As well as the annual ‘switch-on’ event on Friday 30th August, a second event will also be taking place on Saturday 31st August. Whilst a concert by legendary pop band Madness would normally be fantastic news for the town, unfortunately the gig will have negative consequences for the tramway and its passengers.<\/p>\n
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As announced previously, Irish band The Script will perform on the Friday night before the illuminations are switched on by TV and radio personality Jonathan Ross and unlike previous years, this will be regarded as a concert rather than merely the switch-on ceremony, with a ticket price to suit! Madness will then headline a concert the following night. Both of these events, which form an expanded illuminations switch-on weekend, will be held at the controversial Tower Festival Headland site. Like last year, this will mean that the adjacent tramway will be closed off to\u00a0create\u00a0additional space for concert-goers. This will mean a return for the awful ‘split service’, with some trams operating from Starr Gate and terminating at either Tower or Manchester Square, with further cars running between North Pier and Fleetwood. Passengers wishing to travel along the tramway to view the illuminations, or indeed get home from work or go about their daily business, will therefore be forced to walk past the concert site.<\/p>\n
Another unfortunate consequence of the events, is that no illumination tours will be able to operate on the first two nights of the lights season. Instead the first tours of 2013 will run on Sunday 1st September, departing from the Pleasure Beach loop, as they did in 2012. No major changes are expected for the tour format\u00a0this year, with the three illuminated cars likely to dominate the output although hopefully there will also be plenty of opportunities to ride on other heritage trams too.<\/p>\n
Whilst the aim of encouraging more tourists to stay in Blackpool for a weekend is a good one, it is a great pity that anyone who does not wish to see either of the concerts will be inconvenienced, and that Blackpool Transport will lose valuable revenue on both days. It is not yet known how long the tramway near the Tower will be closed off for, but disruption is likely all day on 30th & 31st August, and presumably some time will be needed to clear the tracks on 1st September before the line can re-open fully.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As feared, it has been confirmed that the Blackpool tramway is set to be heavily disrupted for the first two nights of the 2013 illuminations season. As well as the annual ‘switch-on’ event on Friday 30th August, a second event … Continue reading