Trams Secure Trio of Titles

The island’s MER has scooped three big awards from supporters across the British Isles.

Originally conceived as a bit of fun at the end of the year the British Trams Online Tram of the Year began as a way to to find the tramcar which had done something “special” over the previous 12 months.

The MER was shortlisted for three of the categories and won all three.

Tram of the Year (Heritage), saw the most closely fought battle with eventually the MER’s trailer 19 receiving the most votes. The trailer returned to service during the Heritage Transport Event which took place last year having not been on the rails for 50 years.

British Trams Online said: ‘The culmination of hard work from volunteers and paid staff from Isle of Man Railways the return of the trailer was one of the highlights of the event.’

The MER also received the most votes in the other two categories it was nominated in including ‘Tramway of the Year’, which helped recognise the success of its 130th year.

Those celebrations also landed the ‘Event of the Year’ award for the island. with the MER 130 even picking up 82% of the votes cast.

While the awards are a bit of fun, they do shine the spotlight on the success of the island’s railway compared to its UK counterparts.