Kentish Express Ashford & District
Railway’s bid for £100k as pandemic hits coffers
Attraction’s cash appeal in its 60th anniversary year
An historic railway needs to raise £100,000 in four months in order to ensure its survival.
The Kent and East Sussex Railway, which runs between Tenterden and Bodiam in East Sussex, is set to mark its 60th anniversary this year.
However the pandemic has seen it closed for much of the last year, with the steam railway saying it desperately needs £100,000 by July to recuperate the losses.
Railway commercial manager, Andre Freeman, said: “It’s amazing to think that the K&ESR has been a preserved line for as many years as it was originally in operation, having opened in 1901 and closed in 1961.
“The fight by volunteers to reopen the line took 13 years to achieve so we are determined it will continue to operate for another 60 years yet – which is why we are appealing for your help today.
“Tens of thousands of families enjoy a visit to the K&ESR each year and we want to ensure it’ll still be here for future generations to enjoy.
“If each visitor were able to give us just £2, less than the price of a cup of coffee, our target would be met and our future secured.”
The railway did secure a £300,000 Culture Recovery Fund grant in the autumn, but this was only to cover lost income from spring and summer.
When the second lockdown was implemented, all the preparations for a Covid-safe reopening – as well as its lucrative ‘Santa Special’ programme – were put to waste.
Mr Freeman said: “We were, quite simply, devastated when lockdown restrictions forced the cancellation of our entire Santa Special programme – we know that many families have come to regard an annual visit to the K&ESR as an essential part of their Christmas experience.
“For our team, we hugely enjoy bringing Christmas to life for our young – and young at heart – visitors.”
Ashford and Tenterden MP Damian Green is throwing his weight behind the funding drive, having filmed a video on-site last week to launch the campaign.
He said: “The railway is very important, bringing in about £5 million to the local economy, having 400 volunteers working there and being one of the borough’s big attractions.
“It brings people into Tenterden and the borough and there’s a huge amount of support as it’s such a big local feature.
“It’s both modern entertainment and a link with Kent’s past that we shouldn’t forget.
“It was originally built to carry hops and hop pickers, and that gives us a link to what Kent was like a century ago.
“To have it as a heritage railway means it’s not only fun but it’s a good history lesson.
“I think it’s very plausible it’ll raise the money, I know so many people like it and use it, so if everyone digs in they’ll definitely get the much-needed money.”
■ To donate £2, £5 or £10, text KESR 2, KESR 5 or KESR 10 respectively to 70085, or visit www.kesr.org.uk
Yet another rail fare increase is a slap in the face for the public. After a year of job losses and economic hardship, why would we put up the cost of fares even further?
We already have eyewateringly high fares. This will see even more cash taken out of passengers’ pockets right at the point when we’re seeing restrictions being eased and we’ll start to see people returning to our railways in coming months.
Key workers - the very people who are keeping the rest of us safe - will face the brunt of this as they’re the ones still taking the train to get to work.
The pandemic has exposed the failure of rail privatisation. In the good times, private companies let the juicy profits roll in. In the bad times the government steps in to
subsidise them, bail them out and make sure passengers are still ripped off in the process.
That’s why rail companies were paying out dividends to shareholders before the pandemic, the government has bailed out the industry during the Covid crisis and passengers are now being whacked with a massive fare rise.
The government should recognise this and bring our railways into public ownership, so we can have a railway fit for the 21st century.