Manx Electric Railway — the coast tram from Douglas to Laxey and Ramsey

The Manx Electric Railway (MER) opened in 1893 and runs 17½ miles up the east coast from Douglas to Laxey and Ramsey. Its Victorian and Edwardian tramcars are still in daily service. This page is the detail for riding it: the stops, the 2026 fares and times, which cars you might get, which side to sit on and how to plan a day. For the island’s other lines, see our heritage railways guide.

Stations, times and fares

Times are from Derby Castle on the 2026 timetables. Fares are adult returns, from the 2026 MER fare chart (opens in a new tab) (September 2026).

Stop	From Douglas	Adult return	Get off for
Groudle Glen	10 min	£9	The glen and the Groudle Glen Railway
South Cape (request)	25 min	£13	Old Laxey, the harbour and beach
Laxey	30 min	£13	Laxey Wheel, Snaefell, the village
Dhoon Glen (request)	45 min	£13	Waterfall and a steep glen to the sea
Ballaglass (request)	55 min	£17	A quiet wooded glen
Ballajora (request)	63 min	£17	Maughold church and headland
Ramsey	75 min	£17	The town, harbour and Queen’s Pier

Singles are £5, £7 or £9. Laxey to Ramsey is £13 return and takes about 45 minutes. Children aged 5–15 pay half, and under-5s go free with a paying adult. There are no concessions for visitors over 60.

There are 51 stops on the official 2026 stop list (opens in a new tab). Apart from Derby Castle, Laxey and Ramsey, almost all are request stops. To board, flag the tram down like a bus. To get off, tell the conductor when you get on.

How often it runs

The MER runs from 17 March to 1 November 2026. It uses lettered timetables on different dates. Check the 2026 timetable calendar (opens in a new tab) for your day.

• Summer (timetable D): trams leave Derby Castle about every 30 minutes from 09:40 to 16:10. Most go on to Ramsey, but some turn back at Laxey. The last tram from Ramsey leaves at 17:10, and the last from Laxey back to Douglas leaves at 17:55.
• Spring and autumn (timetables B and C): fewer trams, and the last tram from Ramsey leaves at about 16:40.
• TT fortnight (timetable F): trams every 30 minutes from 08:40 and into the evening.
• Summer evenings (E and G): extra evening trams on some dates.

For the rest of this season there are no trams on Mondays or Fridays in October, and from 20 October the quieter timetable B applies.

The trams: open, closed and very old

Most services are a closed motor car pulling an open crossbench trailer. On warm summer days an open car may pull the open trailer. Cars you might see include:

• Cars 1 and 2 (1893). Built for the opening of the line, and listed by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest electric tramcars still running on their original line.
• Tunnel cars 5, 6, 7 and 9 (1894). Long and narrow inside. Car 7 is in the original Prussian blue and ivory.
• Winter saloons 19–22 (1899). The everyday workhorses.
• Open cars 16, 32 and 33. Nos. 32 and 33 date from 1906 and are the most powerful trams in the fleet.

Where to sit and what to look for

Sit on the right going north and on the left coming back. On the open trailer, that means the right-hand end of the bench. The best bits are:

• Douglas to Groudle: sea views from Onchan Head, then the tightest curve on the line onto the viaduct over Groudle Glen.
• Into Laxey: the descent with views across Laxey Bay, then the four-arch Glen Roy viaduct into the station.
• Laxey to Dhoon: the big one. The line climbs to Bulgham, runs along the cliffs high above the sea and reaches 588 feet at Summit Corner, its highest point. Look out for wild goats.
• Ballaskeig to Ramsey: the sea comes back into view, with Maughold Head lighthouse, Ramsey Bay and the Queen’s Pier. On a clear day you can see the Cumbrian hills.

Between Dhoon and Ballajora the line heads inland through farmland and the glens. It’s quieter, not worse.

The stops worth knowing

• Derby Castle. The Douglas terminus, with a ticket office, toilets, a gift shop and the Terminus Tavern next door. It’s about 1.5 miles from the Sea Terminal. Take the horse tram from the Villa Marina, or a bus along the promenade.
• Groudle Glen. The MER’s original 1893 terminus. Walk down the glen, or ride the volunteer-run Groudle Glen Railway (opens in a new tab) to Sea Lion Rocks, which runs on Sundays in season.
• Laxey. A ticket office, toilets and the Laxey Station Café (open Easter to late September on railway days). This is where you change for Snaefell. The Laxey Wheel is about 15 minutes uphill. For the beach and harbour, get off one stop early at South Cape.
• Dhoon Glen. A request stop above one of the steepest glens on the island, with a big waterfall and 190 steps down to the shore. See our glens guide.
• Ramsey. The station is on Albert Street at the end of the main shopping street. It has a ticket office and toilets. See our Ramsey guide.

Day plans

Laxey and Snaefell (the classic)

Tram to Laxey, Snaefell up and back, then the Laxey Wheel and lunch in the village. Leave Douglas by about 10am in summer. It’s a comfortable day and you’re home by teatime. The full plan is on our Snaefell page.

All the way to Ramsey

Tram from Douglas to Ramsey (75 minutes) for lunch and a walk round the harbour. Then take the tram back, or the number 3 bus down the coast road if you’d rather see the route from the other side. Add Laxey on the way back for a full day.

A glen day

Get off at Dhoon Glen, walk down to the waterfall and the shore and back up, then pick up the next tram and go on to Ballaglass or Ramsey. On the summer timetable, southbound trams stop at Dhoon roughly every hour. Look at the timetable before you get off so you know when the next one is due.

Sunday with small children

Horse tram to Derby Castle, the MER to Groudle, the Groudle Glen Railway to Sea Lion Rocks and back. Home by lunch. More ideas in our guide to things to do with kids.