Hogwarts Express derailed (due to elf and safety issues)
IT is one of the most celebrated journeys in the world – equally beloved of train enthusiasts and Harry Potter fans.
But the steam service running on the West Highland line between Fort William and Mallaig has been metaphorically derailed.
The company which runs The Jacobite steam train, which doubled as the Hogwarts Express in the films about the boy wizard, has been banned from operating rail services due to alleged safety breaches.
West Coast Railways has already been taking bookings for The Jacobite’s summer season.
Company officials said they were working to have the ban overturned, but confirmed they are preparing to offer refunds to customers.
The cancellation of the steam service could prove devastating for the economy of the West Highlands, especially for Mallaig, the final stop of the train’s 41-mile journey from Fort William.
At peak season, around 600 passengers a day disembark at the small port town where they support local jobs by spending thousands on meals, drinks and local souvenirs.
The Jacobite attracts 88,000 passengers a year.
‘A lot of businesses – including ours – would struggle if the train doesn’t run,’ said a spokesman for gift shop Way Out West. ‘It has been voted one of the top ten railway journeys in the world. To not be able to travel that line on a steam train would be a crying shame.’
West Coast Railways is owned by Yorkshire farmer David Smith, and also runs other ‘heritage’ steam train routes. It is accused of almost causing a ‘catastrophic incident’ at Wootton Bassett Junction in Wiltshire in March last year.
It’ s alleged that as team locomotive operated by the company passed a signal at ‘danger’ after the Train Protection and Warning System ‘was interfered with’.
The 70-year-old train was left straddling a busy junction, minutes after a First Great Western intercity high-speed train had shot through.
West Coast Railways is now being prosecuted by the Office of Rail and Road, which has also revoked the company’s safety certificate. Ian Prosser, HM Chief Inspector of Railways at ORR, said: ‘My concerns about West Coast Railway Company’s lack of appreciation of the seriousness of a range of incidents, coupled with ORR’s concerns on the company’s governance, make this prohibition necessary.’
John Barnes, who runs the Glenfinnan Station Museum, said the loss of the service would seriously affect local income from tourism. He said: ‘People travel from all over the world to make the trip and they usually have to stay in hotels or B&Bs in Fort William or Mallaig.’
But he added that visitors could still use the ordinary Scotrail service. ‘The scenery is the same.’
A spokesman for West Coast Railways said: ‘Until certain operational improvements have been met, WCR are not running scheduled services on the UK mainline.’