West Coast Railways ‘The Jacobite’ returns ...
Railways reinstated its popular ‘The Jacobite’ tourist service between Fort William and Mallaig on the West Highland Line from April 15. As reported, the start of its 2024 operating season was cancelled due to ongoing restrictions in place on WCR’S operation of Mk.1 coaching stock that is not fitted with central door locking (CDL), after the company lost a judicial review in December.
The annual season had been due to get underway on March 28, with the company selling tickets for the trains through its website. However, it subsequently announced on March 20 that the trains would not be operated until further notice, with passengers who had booked to travel offered full refunds.
The company subsequently recommenced operations of ‘The Jacobite’ from April 15, appearing to circumvent the ORR regulations by running a mixed rake of Mk.1 and Mk.2f stock, formed of coaches 3360, 1860, 6103, 21266, 6022, 4951, 6000. Of these, the doors on the Mk.1s were understood to be locked out of use and not carrying passengers.
The company stated that the trains had reduced capacity and would not be able to accommodate all of the passengers who had initially booked to travel. Passengers who had previously booked to travel on the service were given the opportunity to re-book on a first come, first served basis, with priority given in order of the date of their original booking.
WCR decided to challenge the requirements of the Office of Rail and Road for operators to fit CDL to its rolling stock, with the company having a large fleet of Mk.1 coaches which would require the equipment fitted, unless an exemption from the ORR is in place. A judicial review found in favour of the ORR. Regulation 5 of the Railway Safety Regulations (RSR) 1999, which came into force on January 1, 2005, states: “No person shall operate, and no infrastructure controller shall permit the operation of any rolling stock on a railway line if the rolling stock has hinged doors for use by fare paying passengers for boarding or alighting from the train (other than doors which have a means of centrally locking them in a closed position).”
However, under Regulation 6 of the RSR, the ORR is permitted to grant exemptions to the Regulation 5 restrictions which are subject to conditions and a time limit, and the exemptions can be revoked by a certificate in writing at any time. WCR was initially granted exemptions on May 1, 2005, which lasted until March 31, 2013. A new exemption was granted in 2012, which expired on March 31, 2023. A series of temporary exemptions were then granted from March 2023 until the outcome of the judicial review was decided on December 22, with the ORR revoking the final temporary exemption in January 2024.
WCR submitted a new exemption application to the ORR on March 8, which is now under consideration. It is understood that a decision on this application could take up to four months.
In a statement released by the ORR before the services were restarted, a spokesman said: “All heritage operators were told several years ago that in order to operate after March 31, 2023, they either needed to fit central door locking or obtain an exemption from us. “West Coast Railway’s application for an exemption failed and they made a claim for judicial review. A temporary exemption was granted in order to maintain the status quo, enabling WCR to operate whilst the litigation reached a conclusion. “Despite this, WCR chose to sell tickets when it was far from certain that a new application for an exemption would be granted, either in time for the commencement of services or at all. It submitted an exemption application on March 8, which we are now assessing.
“ORR is disappointed that WCR appears not to have made sensible contingency plans for the benefit of its customers.”
The first day of operation on April 15 saw Stanier 5MT steam locomotive 45212 slip to a stand outside Glenfinnan, which required 37676 to be sent from Fort William to rescue the train.