TramForward welcomes tram link to Blackpool North Station

TramForward welcomes last week’s news that funding has been provided to extend the Blackpool tramway from the Promenade at North Pier to Blackpool North railway station.

The allocation is for £16.4m towards the estimated £18.2m total cost of the project and forms part of almost £90m of funding allocated for improvements to the road and rail networks on the Fylde coast over the next decade.

The plans were announced by Transport for Lancashire, the newly formed body made up of representatives from Lancashire County Council, Blackpool Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council and the private sector led Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP), which was set up to develop major transport schemes. This has come about as part of the Government’s localism policy to delegate funding decisions to local bodies.

The scheme has been in Blackpool’s plans for some time and, during the recent upgrade of the tram system, trackwork was installed to facilitate the extension.

Andrew Braddock, Chairman of the Light Rail Transit Association, said “It is excellent news that the newly refurbished Blackpool tramway will now be able to link to the national rail system and provide better connections for local people and visitors. It is an early example that the delegation of funding powers to local transport bodies is working and one we hope to see repeated around the country.”