The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Rail operator loses doors safety case in High Court
The operator of a money-spinning Highland train service that featured in the Harry Potter films has lost a High Court challenge against a rail regulator over the safety of doors on its carriages.
West Coast Railway Company Ltd (WCRCL) took legal action against the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) after it refused to exempt the company from rules banning the use of hinged doors without central locking.
The company, which runs the Jacobite service, known popularly as the Hogwarts Express, complained that the multimillion-pound cost of having to retrofit central locking could “destroy” its business and argued its door systems were just as safe.
But in a ruling on Friday, a judge dismissed the operator’s case and concluded that the ORR had taken a “justifiable” approach.
Mrs Justice Thornton said in her written judgment that WCRCL is the largest operator of “heritage train tours” in the UK. The company also operates the Flying Scotsman “which is considered to be one of the best-known locomotives in the world”.
The Jacobite, a popular tourist attraction, runs between Mallaig and Fort William across the Glenfinnan Viaduct in the Highlands.
Reacting to the news, WCRCL spokesman James Shuttleworth said: “We will now reflect and consider options to enable us to continue running safe services enjoyed by so many visitors from the UK and around the world, upon which local businesses along our routes rely.
“We are committed to working with the Office of Rail and Road to find a long-term solution which safeguards the future of heritage services on the main line. The ORR’s decision to revoke our exemption would require us to install a modern safety system on carriages from a different era.
“The estimated cost of £7 million would be an extraordinary investment and would present a significant financial challenge for WCRCL.”
WCRCL had previously warned that the cost could wipe out the operator’s profits for close to a decade.
Mr Shuttleworth continued: “Fulfilling our commitments to customers and the businesses that
depend on our operations is paramount for us.
“Our Jacobite service alone boosts the local economies of Mallaig and Fort William, bringing an estimated £20m into the UK’s tourism sector.
“If WCR’s exemption to operate on the main line is revoked permanently, this would lead to £50million in lost value to both local and national communities.”
Lochaber councillor Angus MacDonald said: “The Jacobite is a crucial contributor to the Fort William and Mallaig economy. Visitors from all over the world come to Lochaber to travel on and admire our train. This is an absolute tragedy.
The ORR, the safety regulator on Britain’s railways, told the judge that “it does not wish to see heritage train operators go out of business” but from March this year wanted to ensure heritage trains “meet minimum safety standards” by introducing central locking.
WCRCL currently has an exemption in place until February 29 2024.
But Mrs Justice Thornton said it was “common sense” that a central locking system was safer than one “dependent on no more than an assumption by the guard that the stewards have locked the doors”.
Welcoming the ruling, an ORR spokesperson said: “Other charter heritage operators which use the mainline railway have made the necessary investment to install central door locking on ‘hinged door’ carriages and it remains open to the West Coast Railway Company Limited to do the same.”