Gateway to the Blackpool coast
4
4
Date of visit: October 2025
I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: a hidden impairment and moving around.
Overall Rating
Good
I got to Blackpool on the train at Blackpool North train station, so the North Station tram stop was my first destination for onward travel within the town. There is no shortage of gastronomy and nightclubs in the vicinity – and even the biggest Sainsbury’s I have ever seen – but the tram can take you right to the sea and the attractions along the Promenade.
Disabled Access In and Around
Good
Coming from the train station, you first cross the street to the car park and then get to an underpass with stairs down on the right and a long ramp on the left going down in a straight line. There are tactile markings at the top and bottom and railings on either side of the ramps as well as three free standing handrails spreading the width of the stairs down. There is a longer flight of stairs with no ramp alternative coming down from the High Street end of Queen Street. The flooring is small pavement stones that are quite even. The platform is on the other side of the underpass and you can go right onto it without any more steps. There are tactile markings for the beginning of the platform after which there is a small incline. The rails are on either side and end on the underpass side of the platform. There are fences around the ends of the rails and footpaths on either side of them. Continuing past the platform, there will be a set of stairs on the left at the end of the building to take you up to Talbot Road. You can also follow the street straight ahead and around to the left uphill to get to Talbot Road step-free. The platform has tactile markings along the edges. (Going over them in my chair was quite bumpy – sorry about the shaky video at that point!) There is a digital timetable at the top of the platform and a two-sided shelter beyond that. The shelter has timetables and two benches on either side, but they are not real benches with flat seats, more like supports at an angle. Each side of the platform has two wheelchair symbols on the ground that line up with the wider doors on the trams. The doors of the trams are approximately at the same level as the platforms, so there are no ramps needed. I always managed to get onto the tram in my powerchair, but I did find that it was a little bit higher than the platform and I struggled when it was raining and everything was slippery. At the other end of the platform, there is another tactile strip marking the end and then lowered curbs with tactile markings crossing the tracks on either side (small carpark with disabled parking and way up on the left, larger car park on the right).
Accessible facilities: Single-level venue, Step-free entrance
Parking & Transport
Excellent
I travelled to this place by train
Blackpool North train station is an 80-metre/2-minute walk or wheel away from the platform. The nearest bus stops are and Talbot Road and North Station (5, 5A, 5B, 5C, 6, 7, 7A, 12, 12A, 14, 18, 42, 61, 76, X2), which are approximately 120 metres on the step-free route and 50 metres going up stairs to the street. Queen Street (3, 3A, 9) is at a similar distance as via the step-free route. There is a small car park with 7 or 8 disabled parking bays and another one on the other side of the tracks right by the tram stop. Additionally, there is the parking for the train station and on-street parking on some side streets to the north (e.g. Lord Street) a few minutes’ walk or wheel away.
Accessible facilities: Dedicated on-site parking, Public or on street parking
Accessible Toilets
There are no toilets at this station. There is a code-locked Changing Places toilet across the road at No1 Bickerstaffe Avenue. During the week you can go in and ask for the passcode and then access the toilet at all hours. There are also accessible toilets in the Holiday Inn and in Blackpool North train station behind the ticket barriers.
Staff
Good
I have found the tram staff to be friendly and helpful. Sometimes there will be staff at the tram stops, but more commonly there will be two conductors on the tram who can assist you with boarding and buying your tickets. They will usually shout out which direction the tram is going when at North Station because it is not clear from the platforms at this tram stop which direction a tram is going in.
