Blackpool Transports confirms all trams back in service after pantograph issue repaired

Blackpool Transport said engineers were working to fix a pantograph issue on Tuesday afternoon (July 19), causing all tram services to be suspended.

People affected by the cancellations were advised they could use the Service 1 bus – Fleetwood to Starr Gate – as an alternative.

“Are teams are working to get this fixed as quickly as possible so we can return to service,” a spokesman for Blackpool Transport said.

In an update posted at 2.19pm, the transport provider confirmed all trams were back in service.

The news came as temperatures in the resort reached a sweltering 35C.

An issue railway networks face amid heatwaves is the risk of overhead wires overheating.

Overhead wires give power to trains by conducting electricity through the pantograph – an apparatus mounted on the roof of the train.

During heatwaves, the overhead wires can expand and sag, causing the train's pantograph to become entangled in the wires and requiring repairs.