Why don't they just re-name the station, ‘Blackpool Welcomes Young, Fit and Solvent People Only’?
After tram users in Blackpool were left shocked by services no longer stopping at Blackpool’s new North Station stop following the tramway’s £22m extension along Talbot Road, locals have had their say on the matter.
A large yellow notice was found fixed to the stop on the new North Station line next to Holiday Inn at the weekend. The notice said: “North Station - Trams will no longer serve this stop after 7pm - Your closest stop is North Pier.”
It means trams will continue along the Promenade instead of turning onto Talbot Road in the evenings. It left passengers questioning why the stop and the tramway’s new extension along Talbot Road was not being used in the evenings - just three months after opening in June.
The £22m project is designed to take commuters, shoppers and visitors directly from Blackpool North station to where they need to be across town, via the Promenade.
The additional services to and from North Station were also intended to provide additional capacity and an increased frequency of service in the busy seafront area of the tramway network.
But the suspension of evening services along Talbot Road has drawn criticism from some members of the public, with some labelling it ‘Blackpool’s new ghost tram’.
“If we had a park and ride on south car parks would take a lot of traffic away from town centre. Too logical eh?” said Heather O'Hara, while Paul Harvey added: “So people who come to Blackpool by train to see the Illuminations can't get any closer to them than North Station after 7pm? Why don't they just re-name the station, ‘Blackpool Welcomes Young, Fit and Solvent People Only.’”
Sue Barnes added: “And if the trams kept running but created problems for the cars on the road, you would be complaining then as well,” while Sofia Jenkins said “To avoid illumination traffic - actually a sensible idea for once.”
Macdougall Philip, on the other hand, was focused on alternative matters. “I love there being a tram stop for the rail station cos there's a Greggs there now,” he said.