Heritage group calls for Douglas horse tram track completion

Work to complete the tramway to the Sea Terminal is expected to cost £1.2m

MHKs must "turn on the pressure" to see the Douglas horse tramway reinstated along the entire length of the promenade, a heritage group has said.

The Manx Electric Railway Society said "cutting" the line would damage the island's reputation with tourists.

It comes after Infrastructure Minister Tim Crookall said would not to seek the money to extend the tracks to the Sea Terminal for up to two years.

The line will instead end at the War Memorial for the time being.

'Priceless asset'

In a statement, a spokesman for the group said the Victorian horse tramway was of "incalculable historic importance", and the government was duty-bound to preserve "this priceless asset".

Under the current plans, the line would terminate "in the middle of nowhere", and subsequently miss out on a "supply of passengers" along the roadway to the Sea Terminal, he said.

He added that Mr Crookall's stance was "simply not good enough", and MHKs should lobby for the full length of the track to be rebuilt.

In 2016 Tynwald voted to redevelop the entire tramway from the Strathallan Terminus to the Sea Terminal as part of the £26m Douglas Promenade redevelopment project.

However, the £1.2m budgeted to complete the remainder of the line was moved to be spent elsewhere on the promenade refurbishment, and a decision was taken by the infrastructure department to end the line the War Memorial until further funding is secured by a vote in Tynwald.

Work on the tramway, which is currently completed up to the Broadway junction, has faced repeated delays due to issues with faulty rail points.

Mr Crookall told the House of Keys on Tuesday that he had "no idea" when the 2022 horse tram season would start, despite earlier commitments to have it ready for the TT Races in June.