Shareholders, staff and volunteers will be aware that the railway recently received an inspection visit from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), the government body responsible for maintaining and monitoring safety standards in the railway industry. We have now received a letter from the ORR which outlines the steps they require us to take. The ORR will be publishing their own public statement about the visit, so it would not be appropriate to pre-empt that. However, we can say that whilst we have been allowed to retain our licence to operate we have a significant number of important actions to take. We will be receiving a follow up visit from the ORR inspector in March, next year, to ensure that the various actions have been undertaken.
The Board have taken the view that the railway should close completely from 2nd January until 1st April next year. This will mean that the Spring Gala and the proposed ACE Event will now not take place. There will also be no trains during the spring (February) half terms. The Board consider this short period of closure as essential, both to give infrastructure teams additional time to undertake maintenance but also to allow paid and volunteer staff to focus on qualifications and effective record keeping. It is also clear that from a commercial point of view we need to refocus our operation and business processes. We have already begun discussions on the way forward.
Changes are needed in several fields and the Board are committed to undertake this in the most sensitive and constructive way possible. The Directors are determined to ensure the long-term future viability of the railway, and all the actions we will be taking are focussed on that objective.
