LLANGOLLEN ENGINEERING SUFFERS £330,000 LOSS

A loss of £330,000 at the Llangollen Railway in 2018 has been largely attributed to issues with the line’s engineering business and underquoting on major projects.

A new chief mechanical engineer has been appointed in a re-structuring of the engineering department, after the departure of previous CME Graham Elwood.

A statement from LR Chair Liz McGuinness explained: “During 2018, the railway saw a loss of £330k, which in the main was due to issues we incurred in our engineering department. These did not become known until late November 2018 and continued to be realised until the end of the year. When we were aware that there was an issue, we started to put plans into place to try to mitigate the situation as much as possible. Unfortunately, we could not avoid the loss in 2018. We now have a new CME and a recovery plan.

“The day-to-day operation of the railway is thriving… and the general footfall of passengers is increasing. The side of the business that has caused us to make a loss is the performance of our engineering division. There are various reasons, the main ones being gross underquotations on two major projects. However, we are working towards re-balancing the business and changing the structure in our engineering department to prevent this from happening again.

“We have a clear strategy in place to help us move forward; part of this strategy is putting a general manager back in position who will have day-to-day contact with all departments. We have a new CME who will make the relevant changes within the engineering department and who has a wealth of experience to share with the team. There will be tighter financial control across all aspects of the railway and we will continue to work with an independent financial advisor.”