Another month in profit

THE West Somerset Railway (WSR) has generated a profit for the second successive month – despite budgeting for a five-figure loss.

“The results for July show a profit of £49,503 compared to a budgeted loss of £29,036,” said WSR plc chairman Jon Jones-Pratt.

“Income during the month has been mainly made up of fares of £123,794, retail income of £49,588, loco department income of £14,255 and restoration income of £11,264. This is a great result. We continue to manage all expenditure very carefully and our bank balances are looking healthier with creditors up to date.”

“We need to get to a breakeven situation on our day-to-day operations. Whilst the results for July are very encouraging, we still have work to do here. When we set the budgets we were cautious and forecast a loss of £416,458 for the year to the end of July.

“We have achieved a better result with a smaller loss of £148,594. We don’t yet know the complete fare income for August, though early returns are promising and most trains were well loaded.”

For June, the results for the month showed a small profit of £2524 compared to a budgeted loss of £110,120 (RM August, p66).

Meanwhile, the line’s £1 million ‘SOS’ appeal has now passed the £50,000 marker (actual £50,464.11), so 10% of the initial £500K target this winter and so 5% of the full figure. The WSR said it is looking to increase this figure rapidly now with the help of a new fundraising drive.