I rode the first Blackpool North Extension tram, it's doomed to fail! 

Chris' video from today...

If I had a nickel for every time a new tram extension to a town's main station was delayed by several years, I'd have 2 nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

Thanks for the shout out 😁. The timetable is very bad, really disappointing and now how I thought the extension was initially sold. I found it difficult to find a positive.

IT'S NOT GOOD? what the hell am I hearing? believe me, this project is necessary, and that extension means less people driving, more people cycling, walking, taking public transport. I don't care how crap an extension is. It's good because it is useful, and it encourages active or public transport. I know I don't live in Blackpool, but Leicester, but can you look at the US for a moment and see the point of public transport and the correlation between better active/public transport infrastructure + walkability and less driving?

The galaxy brain idea would have been to rebuild Blackpool Central as the main train station for Blackpool and then you wouldn't need a tram extension :D

Whilst I understand your valid concerns about the timetable and Passenger Information Display, I think you have missed the bigger picture Jen and that is the infrastructure investment to build the extension is part of something bigger, it's part of Blackpool starting to believe in itself again as part of it's own regeneration journey. The timetable I'm sure will be tweaked in the future and hopefully one day we will finally see Passenger information displays at our busy tram stops but crucially we will see economic investment on the back of this project including the new DWP building currently being built round the corner and a new office block, but it hopefully opens the door to more tram extensions with more trams. I love Blackpool so am biased but today was a brilliant day for a place I love.

I was wondering what was up with it, but the timetable's just... shocking. I lament that you can't get a tram to Edinburgh Airport before about 5:30am but... not serving the rail station until after 9? That's bonkers!

It's not the extention that is bad. I actually would say it is very useful. The timetable is just not good.

The timetable is shit but a tram extension is better than no tram extension

You're right, the timetable is a real shocker, considering they used the lack of a heavy rail service to Fleetwood as one of the justifications for building this spur. I can see no reason why the first tram of the day from Fleetwood at 0710 could not run as a T3 to North Station, and then onto say, Pleasure Beach as a T2. Is there really so much demand for a service to Starr Gate at such an early hour? I suspect not... that would provide an 0800 arrival at North Station, an 0805 departure and an 0827 arrival at Pleasure Beach, from which it can turn on the circle and depart as a slightly retimed 0828 T2 service to North Station, at say, 0830, running 2 minutes later throughout.

I've seen many comments about the poor timetable. Hopefully if demand warrants, it will get better. But I am underwhelmed by the tram terminus. It has taken years and £23m to get somewhere near the North Station, through a subway that looks a bit intimidating. Why couldn't they do a proper job and run the tramway another 100 metres or so and end up as part of the station? Better still, make it a proper bus/tram/ train interchange. It feels as if it was designed as urban regeneration rather than for actual passengers.

Another super video Jen.

Live departure boards (based on actual running times and not the timeteable) have been the biggest thing that I have missed when using the Blackpool trams on holiday. This will be even worse if the time between services can be either 5 or 25 minutes depending on your luck. Hopefully Blackpool Transport will hear this feedback and make some improvements. (Also, great video, Jen! 🙂)

I was here today and I got off the only train to Blackpool North for at least half and hour and had to wait 25 minutes for a tram. Link Them Up!!!

I did the depot tour with the heritage preview yesterday. The Starr Gate loop goes via the sand pumps and tram wash, so it's effectively one way for bringing them back in at the end of service.

Brilliant video Jen, it's good that the tram extension to Blackpool North station is open now but I do think the trams should be more frquent than 30 mins.

Great vlog Jen I mean it’s good that north station is now connected to the rest of Blackpool but a tram every 30 minutes to Fleetwood and Star Gate is unacceptable. And than the main prom service one every 5 minutes then 25 minutes what. In my opinion it should be more trams and every 10-15 minutes on the main prom and every 20-30 minutes to/from North Station. Also no trams into North Station before 9am what about people with early morning trains. 😮

The timetable is fixable though. New infrastructure is great.

You'd think with a connection like that, the trams would become the people movers of that whole coastline. They are sitting on a gold mine and not prospecting enough.

The bell is the same as on Prague's trams and buses, just noticed that