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Two holiday coach companies have gone bust..Impact on heritage lines?

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swanhill41

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In the last two weeks, Shearings group and David Urquhart Coach tours have both entered in CVAs or similar arrangements.


So both companies have pulled the plug on their businesses, stating that the Covid-19 epidemic was the major reason.

One area this will hit is the heritage lines; in high summer the two coach companies usually disgorge 10-15 coaches onto the Ffestiniog Railway!

That is a lot of punters...will other parties take on these roles in any form?

I realise spacing etc will a major issue, but at this stage I am just looking at the effect these two companies going bust.

Oh and in the case of Ffestiniog, they also get a number of coach excursions coming from cruise ships!

A new world, with new challenges?
 
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underbank

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A lot of the coaches visiting heritage lines will be the "7 day UK" tours where people from (mostly) America and the Far East are collected at major airports and coached around the major UK sites, staying in a different region each day. They tend not to use the likes of Shearings - they mostly use a stable of smaller private coach firms. That's another market which will have disappeared and take potentially several years to recover. Lakeside & Haverthwaite seem to have a lot of those coaches - drop off at Haverthwaite > steam train to Lakeside > Boat to Bowness where they're picked up (and vice versa) and that's the Lake District ticked off for them and it's off to Scotland for the next day!
 

Llandudno

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The impact on tourism related businesses across the UK will be huge with failure of Urquhart, Shearings, National, Caledonian etc..

They brought hundreds if not thousands of passengers to:
Ffestiniog
Strathspey
KWVR
NYMR
Peak Rail
Bluebell
South Devon
Llangollen
GWR
Severn Valley
East Lancs


plus on the network
Settle-Carlisle
Kyle of Lochalsh
Jacobite

Then there are all the boat trips on canals/lakes/lochs, admissions to museums, zoos, theatres, theme parks

Numerous coffee shops, gift shops all over the UK, reliant on coach party business especially midweek and out of season

Lots of losers on this one I’m afraid...
 

swanhill41

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Regarding the non Shearings /Urquhart coach operations ,there is another operation which covers the cruise liner business....Festiniog has a big business with I believe passengers dropped of @ Holyhead ,taken to Porthmadoc up to Bleneau on train and back to ship...Another one in North Wales is based on Llangollen ,with tourists dropped off at Liverpool for run up the line...Double whammy there....Cruise liners could have problems filling their ships as well as 2 metre rule...Interesting times!
 

Romsey

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Regarding the non Shearings /Urquhart coach operations ,there is another operation which covers the cruise liner business....Festiniog has a big business with I believe passengers dropped of @ Holyhead ,taken to Porthmadoc up to Bleneau on train and back to ship...Another one in North Wales is based on Llangollen ,with tourists dropped off at Liverpool for run up the line...Double whammy there....Cruise liners could have problems filling their ships as well as 2 metre rule...Interesting times!

More a comment of "oh s***" from heritage railway finance managers!
 

swanhill41

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I think virtually all finance bods on heritage lines are in that mode at present...There are a large percentage of lines that have the begging bowl at present to try and keep the lines afloat for next 12 months at least.
 

Romsey

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I think virtually all finance bods on heritage lines are in that mode at present...There are a large percentage of lines that have the begging bowl at present to try and keep the lines afloat for next 12 months at least.

Arising from that one or two heritage lines are getting quite imaginative with fund raising ideas.
Although I'm not linked to the Talyllyn, their silent auction seems something different. Mrs R has already shown interest in the driving simulator!. I'll be happy with Severn Bridge Jn and a mug of tea!
 
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