Hogwarts Express may vanish into thin air
A ROW over antique door locks could spell disaster for some of the country’s last steam trains including the Hogwarts Express.
Unless some magic can be worked, the biggest operator of steam and classic diesel trains on the national network fears its business is in the balance.
The threat to services run by West Coast Railways follows a move by the Office of Rail and Road to scrap an exemption that allowed it to use traditional hinged-door carriages.
The watchdog banned the popular Jacobite steam service – dubbed the Hogwarts Express after starring in the Harry Potter films – because its 60-year-old carriage doors do not have central locking.
The ORR issued the ban in January over concerns that passengers could open the doors while the train was moving, risking potential injury.
The ban threatens not just the Hogwarts Express, which runs along the West Highland line every summer, but many of West Coast Railways’ other historic trains.
The company operates 60% of all main line heritage trains in the UK, comprising 125 coaches.
Fitting new locks across the fleet would cost around £7million, which the firm’s commercial manager James Shuttleworth said it could not afford.
He added: “Nobody is saying they want to compromise on safety, but we’ve got to keep the historic ambience of the old carriages, otherwise nobody will want to travel.” Campaigners believe the loss of the service – with 110,000 passengers a year travelling between Fort William and Mallaig – would cost £25million in lost tourism revenue annually.
The ORR is now considering a revised application from the rail company to resume operations.
The watchdog said other heritage operators had invested in central door locking or committed to do so over a transition period and it “remains open” to West Coast Railways to do the same.