An enthusiasts’ group claim there are only days left to save the Douglas horse trams.
The Manx Electric Railway Society says plans to go before next week’s Tynwald, which will see the historic tramway given a further two-year reprieve, will not guarantee the line’s future survival.
If Tynwald gives its approval, the trams will run on their existing track in the centre of the road for the 2017 and 2018 seasons – but only from Strathallan to the War Memorial. In the meantime ,talks will continue about the line’s long-term viability.
Plans to redevelop the promenade highway from the War Memorial to the Sea Terminal don’t include the tram track but space will be left for it to be relaid in future. That would cost about £1.65m, compared with £750,000 if the tracks were included in the current Loch Promenade scheme.
The MER Society said it is fully supportive of Infrastructure Minister Phil Gawne’s proposal to retain the horse tramway. But it says the DoI’s report contains some ‘alarming contradictions’.
A spokesman said: ‘Precisely what, if anything, of the horse tramway is Mr Gawne seeking to retain?’
‘By replacing the original depot and stables with a modern pastiche on a different site, changing the route, scrapping trams - the unique appeal, indeed the very raison d’être of the horse line is irretrievably compromised.’
Mr Gawne says options to create a new combined depot and stables and to set up a charitable trust to operate the horse trams are being investigated. Cost of the new track and facilities is estimated at £5.4m.
The DoI says the Strathallan depot is dilapidated and fully refurbishing it is not viable. It suggests the stables and depot could be incorporated in a new heritage railway visitor attraction on land next to the MER depot, at a cost of £2.3m to £2.9m.