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Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
The operator of the “Hogwarts Express” steam train has merged with a rival company to try and sustain itself following a crackdown on traditional railway carriage safety regulations, which it argues has threatened the future of heritage services.
West Coast Railways, the biggest operator of specialised historic steam and classic diesel trains on the UK network, has taken on a large fleet owned by Riviera Trains, with carriages that are compliant with rules on door locks.
The operator has been in a back-and-forth with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), which has demanded that heritage trains such as the Jacobite service used for “Hogwarts Express” tourist trips, be fitted with a central locking system of carriage doors.
The safety watchdog has told heritage operators, including West Coast, that they should introduce central-locking carriages after it banned doors with locks that could be operated by passengers on the train in 2005. However, heritage companies have been able to apply for exemptions from the ORR throughout the years.
The heritage Jacobite service, made famous for its appearance in the Harry Potter films, includes 1950s-era Mark 1 coaches, which consist of traditional hinged doors without a central-locking system.
Services for train enthusiasts and Harry Potter fans on the Jacobite run between Mallaig and Fort William across the Glenfinnan Viaduct in the Scottish Highlands, yet West Coast had a delayed start to their summer season this year due to a crackdown on regulations surrounding the doors – something they said had not only affected them, but over 100,000 tourist passengers and local buinsesses in the area.
The ORR argues that these types of coaches have a poor safety record, are likely to suffer far more damage in a collision, and have been connected to many fatalities and injuries in the past.
Yet West Coast says that they are made safe by having two locks on the door, one of which is a deadbolt, and a steward present in each carriage.
West Coast Railways has now reached a compromise by purchasing 60 Mark 2 coaches from Riviera, which will be transferred to their ownership from 30 September.
The blue and grey coaches include central door locking systems that will comply with ORR standards. However, there is concern that these trains will offer as much historical charm as the Mark 1 coaches.
West Coast Railway told The Independent that “The ambience and the atmosphere of the train are better served by the use of Mark 1s, there’s no doubt. And there’s no physical reason why we can’t still use them, other than the locking regulations.
“But this deal with Riviera at least guarantees the availability of rolling stock and gives us more trains to run and means we can safeguard our renowned services well into the future.
“We continue to seek a resolution to our door locking dispute with the ORR and will either press for an exemption for the Mark 1s, fit central door locking or simply not use them again, which would be a pity. ”
The newly acquired trains will move from Riviera’s rail yard at Burton-upon-Trent to West Coast’s depot in Carnforth, Lancashire.
The Jacobite steam train was suspended in March this year by the West Coast while it was trying to still acquire an exemption for its lack of central locking systems, something that they have managed to obtain for nearly 30 years.
However, they announced in June that their service would resume but with a reduced capacity, as the trains would be slightly shorter due to using only the small number of available carriages with central door locks fitted.
West Coast took legal action against ORR after it refused to exempt the company from the regulations once more.
West Coast complained that the multimillion-pound cost of having to install central locking could “destroy” its business and argued its door systems were just as safe.
However, a judge dismissed the operator’s case and concluded that the ORR had taken a “justifiable” approach.
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