Coronavirus virus effect on Heritage lines Summer 2020

[yorkie]

Interesting how few people have considered the human impact - people whose jobs and income are going........

Not true. A lot of people are very upset at the current situation.

then there’s the moderators of this site sending messages to me for posting as I did ‘you need to specifically state what the link is about’ - for god’s sake people are looking at losing their jobs, doesn’t the link say enough? These are very terrible and unprecedented times. Comparing how long people have taken to restore a locomotive with how long some can survive without an income...... is this really where we’re at?

Not quite what the message would have said and it would have explained why we have the requirements that we do.

Without a quote (and I think the contents of the quote do add a lot of useful detail that aren't just in the hyperlink address) it can be very difficult for our blind members to understand what is being said as they need to navigate to the new site, go through all the relevant menus, find the information and then navigate back again. Also sometimes hyperlinks stop working due to the content changing location or being removed. Content may change.

Also several people use the forum at workplaces where many sites are banned but this site is often added as an allowed site in the web filtering at companies in the rail industry.

Much of the above will have been in the message that you will have received. The message will also have thanked you for posting it. That thank you is genuine! We really do appreciate these contributions. We just want to ensure that everyone can access them, regardless of circumstance or disability

I genuinely do hope you understand that there is no sinister motive here. I hope to see you again at another forum meal in the not too distant future; when we do, I can assure you it will be on us.

And back to the matter of the NYMR, when it is open, please do let me know when you can be there and I will make sure I visit. I really do hope our donation to the NYMR of a couple of years ago was useful and I'm sure that at some point we will be making another donation.

And talking more widely I really do wish all preserved railways all the very best and I am keen to visit many of them when they do reopen. I know many others will be too.

 

[Cowley]

I’d especially like to visit the North Yorkshire Moors having visited the area without having the time to visit the line a few years ago.
Hopefully to have a pint with @fireftrm too if he’s around.

 

[swanhill41]

Rail Advent site has a list of preserved lines and open /closed status....Nearly 100% closed for foreseeable future.....Toquantify,I would say that up to 50% loss of earnings this year....But can a figure be put on expenses not incurred ?...Worrying times.

 

[43096]

Rail Advent site has a list of preserved lines and open /closed status....Nearly 100% closed for foreseeable future.....Toquantify,I would say that up to 50% loss of earnings this year....But can a figure be put on expenses not incurred ?...Worrying times.

Where do you get 50% from? Traffic is highly seasonal and often not when you think it is. Santa specials often account for a large proportion of a railway’s revenue.

 

[paul1609]

Rail Advent site has a list of preserved lines and open /closed status....Nearly 100% closed for foreseeable future.....Toquantify,I would say that up to 50% loss of earnings this year....But can a figure be put on expenses not incurred ?...Worrying times.

I think the message has to be keep calm and carry on. I'm involved with a preserved railway in the South East (K&ESR). So far we have lost about 25% of our annual cruise ships business and our major Thomas event which was to be at Easter but we are dynamic planning our way through the crisis. It would be unrealistic to claim that we won't be affected but thats likely to be true for most organisations and individuals. We will survive whatever happens.

 

[Essan]

The Scotsman have a news story saying that WCR have announced that at present the Hogwarts Express aka The Jacobite will commence running as planned from the 6th April ..... which has not gone down too well among the residents of Mallaig on the local Facebook page! However, I can't see that happening.

The Harry Potter steam train will begin summer trips next month - despite the Coronavirus outbreak.

The Jacobite steam train, which featured in the film series, offers seasonal trips between Fort William and Malliag, Scottish Highlands.

And its daily service is set to go ahead as planned on April 6.

Operator West Coast Railways (WCR) made the announcement today, with services set to operate until September 27.

Jeanette Snape, WRC managing director, said cleaning measures would be stepped up and all train crew would be temperature tested before departure.

But the decision to run the Jacobite service was slammed by rail campaigners.

Doug Carmichael, chairman of the Friends of the West Highland Lines campaign group attacked the move.

He said: “Personally, I think this is a bad decision on the part of the operator.

“The close passenger confinement in the coaches (built in the 1960s) along with only one toilet per coach and old-fashioned surfaces combines to make it conducive to potential spreading of the virus very easily.”

WCR confirmed some passengers had cancelled their tickets, but said bookings were “still quite high”.

Passengers who have already booked are being offered gift cards if they wish to change to another date over the next 12 months.

Ms Snape said: “The health and wellbeing of our guests and crew is of paramount importance to us.

“Our train will undergo a thorough clean before departing our home depot by a team of experienced cleaners.

“Once out on the rails, the onboard team follow comprehensive opening and closing down procedures which involve wiping down all surfaces including tables, door handles and grab rails.

Link to news story (but you may have to register to read it): https://www.scotsman.com/health/cor...team-train-launch-despite-coronavirus-2490540

Edit: apologies, I couldn't access the actual story myself at work, but have now added relevant quote

WCR Website open for bookings: https://westcoastrailways.co.uk/jacobite/steam-train-trip

 

[Harvey B]

Small lines like the Middleton have the advantage that they don't have huge costs. Look at which lines have had financial trouble in the past couple of years... it's the big ones - Llangollen and West Somerset spring to immediate mind.

On the other hand what do you think springs to mind for heritage railways that will not go bust due to COVID-19.
what springs to mind to me are SVR, GCR, GCR(N), KWVR,NYMR, ect as they're more well known in one way or another amongst both enthusiasts and non-enthusiats

 

[reddragon]

My railway has laid out the financial consequences and is stating that money will have to come from somewhere to survive this.

I'd imagine many railways are in a worse position, so I am sending a cheque to them to help out. Something is better than nothing.

 

[Meerkat]

What are the costs the lines can’t avoid even if they go into hibernation?
I assume insurance is a big number, plus a core of permanent paid staff for the big lines.
Maybe overdrafts if they run a winter deficit they pay off in season.
Most of them own their property don’t they so no rent?
If they count as businesses they should be able to get the grants, loans, deferred payments the Chancellor has announced.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

A horrible thought fleecing through my mind at present; with lots of heritage lines closing/lying dormant, I hope they aren't leaving themselves open to possible vandalism

 

[fireftrm]

I’d especially like to visit the North Yorkshire Moors having visited the area without having the time to visit the line a few years ago.
Hopefully to have a pint with @fireftrm too if he’s around.

Definitely!

 

[Goldfish62]

A horrible thought fleecing through my mind at present; with lots of heritage lines closing/lying dormant, I hope they aren't leaving themselves open to possible vandalism

Hopefully the fact that they're closed to the public doesn't mean that volunteers won't be on site working on them. As long as they keep their distance from each other it's a perfect pastime while social distancing!

 

[Harvey B]

My railway has laid out the financial consequences and is stating that money will have to come from somewhere to survive this.

I'd imagine many railways are in a worse position, so I am sending a cheque to them to help out. Something is better than nothing.

i'm curious to know which railway it is
but its so sad for them

 

[30907]

KWVR has just announced closure to passengers (big bridge renewal job at Ingrow not in principle affected).
Bluebell running just two returns to Kingscote using n/corr stock - are they the last one standing?

 

[Titfield]

Just seen on Swanage Railways Twitter Feed

With great sadness we have made the difficult decision to delay the opening of Swanage Railway's main season until 1st May 2020 at the earliest. We are currently updating our website and thank you for your patience whilst we undertake this task.

 

[Iskra]

i'm curious to know which railway it is
but its so sad for them

I'm guessing it's NYMR who have said it will cost them £1m and have asked for donations.

 

[swanhill41]

As far as I can see basically its a case of all heritage lines closed....According to Bojo ,we are in for a period of 12 weeks of isolation,whatever you to call it...My suggestion of loss of 50% of turnover looks about right....Problem is like all other businesses how are they going to deal with the expenses they are committed to?..Not railway,but in charity sector,see Oxfam are closing shops till further notice from this Saturday...Main reason volunteers are over 70 years old in both cases...A no no under Covid-19 rules....

 

[Belperpete]

As far as I can see basically its a case of all heritage lines closed....According to Bojo ,we are in for a mon of 12 weeks of isolation,whatever you to call it...My suggestion of loss of 50% of turnover looks about right...

Many/most heritage lines obtain the bulk of their income during the high summer season, which is a lot more than 12 weeks away. So the loss of the pre-season would probably be about 25%. Still serious, but not 50%.

 

[YorkshireBear]

KWVR has just announced closure to passengers (big bridge renewal job at Ingrow not in principle affected).
Bluebell running just two returns to Kingscote using n/corr stock - are they the last one standing?

Bridge renewal going ahead as planned for now but be assured the engineer is keeping an eye on things and is currently working through plans to redugxce the numbers on site but still get the job done.

 

[Siemens Staines]

RailAdvent website has an up to date list for all heritage lines.

https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2020/0...railways-affected-friday-20th-march-2020.html

It is a fast changing situation but a few are still operating this weekend for Mothers Day specials, or galas e.g East Somerset & Avon Valley

 

[30907]

Bridge renewal going ahead as planned for now but be assured the engineer is keeping an eye on things and is currently working through plans to redugxce the numbers on site but still get the job done.

At least there's presumably less pressure to end the possession on time - just so long as enough people stay fit.

 

[Flying Phil]

GCR have now stopped this weekend's services.

 

[Harvey B]

KWVR has just announced closure to passengers (big bridge renewal job at Ingrow not in principle affected).

they'll probably survive the closure without being urgent for donations (at least for the time being) because they do weekend running out of season (during january and february) anyway and it's probably one of the few that probably run out of season

 

[YorkshireBear]

At least there's presumably less pressure to end the possession on time - just so long as enough people stay fit.

You'd think but unfortunately the engineers supervising are on AL which isn't unlimited.

 

[harz99]

As far as I can see basically its a case of all heritage lines closed....According to Bojo ,we are in for a period of 12 weeks of isolation,whatever you to call it...My suggestion of loss of 50% of turnover looks about right....Problem is like all other businesses how are they going to deal with the expenses they are committed to?..Not railway,but in charity sector,see Oxfam are closing shops till further notice from this Saturday...Main reason volunteers are over 70 years old in both cases...A no no under Covid-19 rules....

And a lot of preserved railway volunteers are pretty well preserved themselves, which won't improve matters even for premises security and the like. Very worrying for our heritage operations to be locked up unattended with schools closed and feral teenagers about!

 

[swanhill41]

This Covid -19 affair has exposed to me,one of the main weaknesses of the Heritage railway business...Virtually all senior personnel are aged 70 or more!....So they cannot meet up in a physical sense,firing,tickey collector or whatever....This is due to over 70's not being allowed to mix with say 30 year olds.....Taking it a stage further I can forsee limitations to how and what can be done by that age group in the future....Not naming the line but one local to us,has chairman aged 78 and the majority of members are in excess of 65 !.....

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Again, and as someone else pointed out, I fear for the immediate future of some of these lines that are going to be left unattended and the feral youths with nothing to do over the coming months looking for a bit of fun....

 

[HY_4273]

The Heritage Railway Association, the industry trade body for the heritage rail sector has reacted to today's announcement from the chancellor:

Steve Oates, chief executive of the HRA, the trade body for the UK heritage railway sector, said: “We welcome today’s announcement on support for retaining salaried employees, and the earlier news of a business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, and the grant funding geared to rateable values. However, many heritage railways don’t pay business rates, so may not benefit.

“The new Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme will help some – but more than a few railways already have loans, and may not be able to cope with more. We’re working with the Tourism Alliance and DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) to confirm that heritage railways, tramways and cliff railways are included in the government’s definition of the leisure sector, and can thus benefit from the £330 bn support being made available.”

The full reaction can be read at: https://www.therailwayhub.co.uk/109...t-support-but-detail-remains-to-be-clarified/

 

[30907]

You'd think but unfortunately the engineers supervising are on AL which isn't unlimited.

Good point.

Virtually all senior personnel are aged 70 or more!....So they cannot meet up in a physical sense,firing,tickey collector or whatever....This is due to over 70's not being allowed to mix with say 30 year olds...

Yes, there is an age profile issue. Just to clarify though - over 70s are "strongly advised" whereas under 70s are merely "advised" on social distancing etc. There isn't a specific restriction on inter-generational meeting.
It is "those with serious underlying health conditions" who are (supposed to be) getting more restrictive guidance, and that potentially affects a lot of the older volunteer force (not just over 70 though).

 

[RichJF]

Spa Valley Railway closed UFN. Earliest reopening is 25th April.