PEAK RAIL SEEKS NORTHERN EXTENSION AMID £100K LOSS
Derbyshire railway says building extension using volunteer labour is ‘unrealistic’.
THE COST OF THE REINSTATEMENT IS SIMPLY BEYOND OUR CAPABILITIES WITHOUT THE ADOPTION OF A RADICAL APPROACH
Peak Rail is still planning its long-awaited northward extension towards Bakewell and Buxton, despite losing over £100,000 last year. The railway, which has recently been embroiled in a costly court case with one of the line’s former directors over disputed locomotive hire fees (see SR477/9), made a loss of £111,466 for the year ending December 31 2017, with a further £75,000 in legal expenses. This comes after PR agreed to pay £130,000 to Grinsty Holdings Ltd – owners of ‘Austerity’ Works No. 3883 ‘Lord Phil’ – over alleged outstanding hire fees for the 0-6-0ST. Despite its financial difficulties, the railway has reaffirmed its intention to extend northwards to Bakewell and beyond, but attests that any project to do so must generate profit. In its financial report for 2017, PR says: “Since the creation of Peak Rail… the world has changed and the concept of constructing a railway like ours through the National Park using primarily volunteer labour is now unrealistic. Therefore, any sensible scheme which is likely to meet with both Local Authority and National Park approval must be designed to be accomplished within a short timescale and using professional contractors. “This means any scheme evolved by Peak Rail must be of a commercial nature to generate the financial returns necessary to meet the costs involved.” In March this year (see SR478), PR announced that it was to explore the possibility of reinstating the line between Rowsley and Peak Forest, near Buxton, in partnership with a number of major local quarry companies. In its report, the railway has said that it is forming a consortium to conduct a technical and engineering assessment, public consultation, an environmental impact assessment, and business case development. “All this is geared in particular at aligning with the Government’s new thinking on private finance in public railways, due to be announced later this year. Under a confidentiality agreement with our partners and financiers, no information can be released until such time that the studies have been completed. “The way the consortium is structured will guarantee Peak Rail a future income and, most of all, allow us to achieve what we have dreamt about for a very long time. The board believes this is attainable within a realistic timescale. “The work being done is not costing Peak Rail anything, but is being financed by the consortium… the cost of the reinstatement is simply beyond our capabilities without the adoption of a radical approach.” However, the railway’s aims of reconnecting with its original headquarters at Buxton have been threatened by a recent planning application to build a new NHS health centre on the site. Previously owned by Nestlé Waters Ltd, the former Buxton Mineral Water site was sold to the NHS for the new health centre, and a planning application by McCarthy & Stone (Developments) Ltd for additional care accommodation “obliterates our vehicular and pedestrian right of way, leaving our site landlocked,” says PR. “Since the developer declines to have any kind of dialogue with us, we have made a formal objection to the proposal.”