World famous ‘Harry Potter’ train could grind to a halt over new …
NEW safety rules could spell the end for the iconic Harry Potter train, bosses have warned.
The world-famous Jacobite steam train[1] transports hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.
2
It could be the end of the line for the JacobiteCredit: Alamy
2
The iconic train takes tourists over the Glenfinnan viaductCredit: AlamyHistoric carriages transport[2] sightseers to Mallaig, Fort William, and over the Glenfinnan Viaduct.
It is frequently described as the “greatest journey in the world” and anyone lucky enough to get a seat on the train has to make bookings months in advance.
The Jacobite shot to fame when it was used as the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter[3] films[4].
But the much-loved train journeys could be come to end over new safety rules, The Herald reports[5].
Since 2003, steam trains[6] have been given two ten-year exemptions to use alternative locking systems on the carriage doors.
West Coast Railways, which runs the Jacobite routes, has been told by the Office of Road and Rail the exemption has been revoked.
The crushing blow means bosses will have to fork out £7million to update the coaches and wipe out profits for up to a DECADE.
Bosses are now planning to fight the decision in court in a bid to save the popular heritage railway
Most read in News Travel
WCR's commercial manager James Shuttleworth said: "The Jacobite is our flagship - we aren't just going to roll over and give up.
"The system we have in place works and it is safe."
If the Jacobite stops running on the route, then it would decimate Mallaig's tourism[7] industry, which has boomed since the introduction of the steam train.
Mr Shuttleworth added: "If the ORR comes down on us heavily, it's going to be difficult and we will have to make a decision on that.
"It's our intention that we keep running it but if we have to fit door locking, it's going to be an expensive business[8]."
We told earlier this year how all journeys on the Jacobite had to be suspended for six days after safety fears were raised by the ORR about hinged doors on carriages[9].
References
- ^ world-famous Jacobite steam train (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
- ^ transport (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
- ^ Harry Potter (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
- ^ films (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
- ^ The Herald reports (www.heraldscotland.com)
- ^ trains (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
- ^ tourism (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
- ^ business (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
- ^ safety fears were raised by the ORR about hinged doors on carriages (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)