Reduced tram service due to maintenance is announced

Wednesday, 7 January 2026 14:10

By Richard Hunt

Blackpool Transport is to introduce a temporarily reduced tram service as it accelerates a planned fleet maintenance programme.

The altered schedule will start on Wednesday (January 7) and continue until Saturday (January 10).

The essential work had been scheduled for later this month, traditionally one of the quietest times of year on the network, but a routine inspection found that some trams needed more urgent upgrades to their suspension systems.

A spokesman for the transport company, which is owed by Blackpool Council, explained: “We apologise to customers for such short notice of these service changes, but our engineers felt that doing the work now would reduce the risk of future disruption.

“By bringing forward the replacement of some components, we can ensure a robust service and prevent any unnecessary wear to other parts of the suspension.

“Once again, we would like to apologise for any inconvenience, but customers can be assured we are doing everything we can to restore scheduled services as quickly as possible.”

Between Wednesday, January 7 and Saturday, January 10, while further inspections are carried out, trams will run every 15 minutes between Fleetwood and Star Gate, when normally some of the services would be every 10 minutes.

This is because trams will not be travelling up to North Station during this time. Instead, a bus replacement will operate regularly between North Pier and the Station stop.

On Sunday, January 11, the planned Winter Maintenance timetable will be introduced, with a 15-minute service and trams running every 30 minutes via North Station.