HRA ‘FEELING POSITIVE’ ABOUT COAL SUPPLY FOLLOWING WESTMINSTER MEETING WITH GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

Heritage Railway Association CEO Steve Oates said that he felt “positive” after meeting with senior government officials over the potential coal crisis.

Representatives from the HRA – including president Lord Richard Faulkner and vice chairman Chris Price (also general manager of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway) – met with Environment Minister Rebecca Pow MP, Tourism Minister Nigel Huddleston MP and the Rt.

Hon. Liz Saville Roberts MP, the new chairwoman of the All-Party Parliamentary Committee on Heritage Rail, at Westminster on March 4 to discuss the concerns of the association and the wider preserved railway industry about future supplies of coal, following DEFRA’s announcement that sales of house coal would be phased out by February 2023 (SR503).

The MPs considered a proposal to provide support to Britain’s preservation industry with the extra cost of importing coal – as an estimated £2-3 million would be needed to establish the necessary supply chain to source the required lump coal from Russia to Britain’s preserved railways and other heritage coal burners – while the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government is reportedly considering granting planning permissions to extend the life of, or to create, new coal mines; the mining of coal suitable for locomotive use is expected to end in 2022, though some industry insiders suggest it could be as soon as next year.

Following the meeting, Mr Oates said: “I was very encouraged by the time afforded to us today by both Rebecca Pow and Nigel Huddleston and their advisers, and by their desire to gain a clear understanding of the challenges, costs and technical issues heritage

railways face in securing consistent and affordable supplies of suitable lump coal in the future.

“Having stressed the economic, PR and social value of heritage railways to the UK’s visitor economy and to numerous local rural economies where heritage railways are often one of the largest attractions and one of the largest employers, it is reassuring to know that the Government has no desire to see the end of heritage steam and that there is no government policy in place to end coal mining in the UK.

“Following a steer from Rebecca Pow, we will now be seeking to meet with senior ministers Kwasi Kwarteng MP (Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy) and Simon Clarke MP (Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government); and to seek similar meetings with relevant ministers in the Welsh Assembly.”