Horse tram season for 2025 starts along promenade

The Isle of Man's historical horse trams have returned for the 2025 season.

The first tram, pulled by horse Torrin, set off at 09:05 BST from Derby Castle on Douglas Promenade, with the season set to run until 2 November.

First launched in 1876 to take advantage of the island's tourism trade, the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway are now operated as part of the government's heritage railway offering.

The tramway had been suspended in 2019 during a £26m promenade redevelopment project before returning in 2022 on a shorter tram line.

As part of that overhaul, tram lines were laid from Derby Castle to Broadway, near the Villa Marina, but plans to continue the line to the Sea Terminal were put on hold in 2021 after the reallocation of funding for the remainder of the track.

In June, the then Infrastructure Minister, Tim Crookall, said there would be no decision on reinstating the full length of the tram lines until a study of the capital investment in rail infrastructure had taken place.

The horse trams are also set to feature in Isle of Man Transport's Manx Heritage Transport Festival between 22 and 27 July.

The trams make up part of the island's vintage transport network, which also includes the Manx Electric Railway, Snaefell Mountain Railway and Isle of Man Steam Railway, which will all be operating until 2 November.

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