Рет қаралды 608
Friday 14th June 2024 was planned to be the second day of enthusiasts' tours on Bombardier Flexity 2 trams to North Station tram plaza.
Journeys were planned from Starr Gate depot at: 10:00 and 12:00 to North Station and back; 10:40 and 14:00 to North Station, then Fleetwood and back to Starr Gate; 15:55 and 19:00 from Starr Gate.
In the event, the 10:00 and 12:00 journeys failed to show and all became clearer when the 10:40 journey, in the form of Flexity 2, 018 again, with only six customers on board. As it did yesterday (but with 19 customers on board), it ran up to Blackpool North Railway Station tram plaza (all still under lock and key) before returning some 10 minutes later and heading to Fleetwood. We didn’t wait to see if any of the others actually turned up.
It is hoped that on the Friday journeys, customers turning up at Starr Gate were ushered to the correct place following the farce the previous day where they were shown into the Starr Gate depot compound and then ushered out once more to have to wait at the service platform whilst 018 went through the rigmarole of leaving the depot into the headshunt, then crossing over down to the terminus and then having to cross back over to go to North Station and Fleetwood. (see the KZbin presentation from JenontheMove).
T1 service was provided by: 001 002 003 010 011 012AD 014 016AD 017
Promenade Special was: 013
Engineering special was 007. This seems to happen every day around 11:30 at North Pier when the tram arrives, driver changes ends and heads back to Starr Gate.
The main service began on Sunday 16th June 2024 and heralded in three tram routes:
T1: Starr Gate to Fleetwood via Promenade.
T2: Starr Gate to Blackpool North Railway Station.
T3: Fleetwood to Blackpool North Railway Station.
Trams on service T1 had shown the service number since Wednesday 5th June 2024.
The last time Blackpool's trams displayed route numbers was 1963 when the Fleetwood to North Station via Dickson Road route showed service 1.
Blackpool is currently the only tram network in the United Kingdom to display service numbers.
Each service runs every 30 minutes so that there is a combined headway of every 15 minutes between Starr Gate and North Pier or Talbot Square and between North Pier and Fleetwood but only a 30 minute service for any customer wishing to cross town.
******* We have since discovered that the combined frequency between Starr Gate and North Pier of every 15 minutes is in one direction only. The southbound journeys are at 20 and 50 (T2) minutes past the hour and 25 and 55 (T1) minutes past the hour leaving a 25 minute gap between trams and then, most likely, two coming together. Not very good!
In the week before the event, we counted the numbers of customers still on board at North Pier in both directions and no tram had less than 20 customers on board when it left North Pier. This will cause frustration at stops such as Norbreck Castle southbound where, on the existing 15 minute frequency, trams do not cope at certain times of the day in shifting people to the Pleasure Beach and Sandcastle. Halving the frequency will cause even more problems unless a dedicated Little Bispham to Pleasure Beach service is introduced.
Similarly on Tuesdays, the current 15 minute frequency bearing copes with numbers from South Shore to Fleetwood Market and that service will be every 30 minutes!
Using T1,T2 and T3 will clarify where the tram is going but halving the frequency cross town will cause serious issues.
We will be covering each day until Monday 17th June 2024.
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a Podbaba Transport presentation
Friday 14th June 2024