In 2012,

Blackpool Council Blackpool Council is the local government in England, local authority of the Borough of Blackpool, in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. Since 1998 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, being a non-metropoli ...

ordered 16 Bombardier Flexity 2 trams for the Blackpool Tramway, becoming the worldwide launch customer for

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Toronto and Berlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. ...

's new design. The modern 100% low-floor trams replaced the Blackpool Tramway's tourist-focused and high maintenance heritage fleet, some of which have been retained with modifications for use as a supplementary fleet alongside the Flexity 2 trams and some for tourist services on the promenade. Blackpool's Flexity 2 trams are intended to be suitable for daily commuters and to provide a service competitive with other modes of transport and comply with legislation on accessibility for disabled users. Two further Flexity 2 units (17 & 18) arrived on 1 and 15 December 2017, entering service on 4 March 2018.

Background

Blackpool Council placed the £33m order for the 16 Flexity 2 trams in July 2009, with funding from the council,

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...

and Lancashire County Council. The worldwide launch of the Flexity 2 family took place with the unveiling of the first Blackpool tram on 8 September 2011. They entered service on 4 April 2012.

Details

The Blackpool Flexity 2 trams are bi-directional five-section articulated tramcars. There are four doors on each side, two single sliding plug doors next to the driver cabs in the first and fifth cars and two double sliding plug doors in the centre of the second and fourth cars. They can accommodate wheelchairs and pushchairs, with level boarding from low platforms which were built at stops ready for the introduction of the trams. The trams have two powered Flexx Urban 3000 bogies in the centre of the first and fifth sections and an unpowered set in the centre car where the pantograph is also located. The trams use a 600 V overhead DC power supply, can negotiate a minimum curve radius of in service or at

Starr Gate Starr Gate is a suburb in the South Shore district of Blackpool in the county of Lancashire, England. It is located at the southwest end of Blackpool on the Fylde coast, adjacent to the Squires Gate district of Blackpool. The place is name ...

Depot and can tackle a maximum gradient of 6%. Although the Flexity 2 trams family's maximum speed is , the Blackpool trams are electronically limited to . The middle and end of 2023 saw the introduction of

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

’s collision and overspeed monitoring and prevention assistance system (COMPAS) being installed on some of the trams as part of a trial which will ultimately be implemented on all trams.

Livery

The final livery unveiled at the launch consists of white sides with black window surrounds and purple cabs, with a purple criss-cross pattern extending along the lower side panels. Some trams have advertisements on the sides instead of the average livery.

Maintenance

The Flexity 2 cars are maintained at a depot at Starr Gate which was purpose built by

VolkerFitzpatrick VolkerRail is a specialist railway infrastructure services company based in Doncaster, England, providing services across the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is wholly owned by Netherlands-based VolkerWessels, a multi-disciplinary construction an ...

, with input based on experience with tram depots elsewhere in Europe.

Fleet

References

External links

Blackpool version spec sheet

Tram family brochure

Tram family website
{{Blackpool culture Bombardier Transportation tram vehicles Train-related introductions in 2012 Tram vehicles of the United Kingdom Transport in Blackpool 600 V DC multiple units