Swanage Railway General Discussion

A contract manager writes that contracts may exist without being so documented. He also notes that, even where not legally enforceable, breaching such agreements may have costs in terms of the wider relationships that exist.

 

No one doubts that commercial relationships are important especially for SRT SRC with businesses and residents in the Isle of Purbeck but if the financial situation is as serious as the announcements convey - that £450K is required to keep the SRC going this winter alone and the railway has to operate in a more commercial way going forward ie generate more net income - then the railway will have to consider those relationships and decide whether the balance / nature of those relationships may have to change in the commercial interest of the SRC and of its employees (who it is worth pointing out are being consulted with on the issue of voluntary redundancy).

 

Completely agree. But those costs need to be factored in to thinking.

 

Agreed the benefits and disbenefits of any course of action need to be factored into the decision making process.

 

I do not do Facebook, but my wife who is on the Swanage Facebook group (the town one not the railway) said there was an advert for actors for two of the roles in the Polar Express operation on there yesterday.
Seemed a bit late when it starts Friday week.

 

"Because it can earn traffic revenue only during a short summer, the railway can only be restored to good order and adequately staffed with the aid of heavy subsidies from the Preservation Society" An extract from LTC Rolt's book on his time with the Talyllyn. This could be said of many heritage railways today where subsidy in one form or another is essential. Managements would do well to remember this and to cut their coat accordingly.

 

Thanks for that. We stay in Corfe a lot and in my view some of the local businesses could do with some competition. Complacency is evident in for instance opening hours even in high season

 

I’ve been looking at heritage railway charitable structures and financial arrangements between parent charities and trading subsidiaries.
I’ve also been looking at their charitable objectives.

It appears to me that almost all heritage railways which have charitable status, have a variation of the term “operating a steam hauled passenger railway for the public benefit, between x and y stations”

A number of heritage railways never make a profit from passenger receipts and secondary spend, and use charitable income from donations and legacies to fill the gap to enable the train service to run, for maintenance of track trains and buildings, and to overhaul locos and coaches.

The Swanage Railway does appear to be an outlier, in treating the train service, maintenance of track trains and buildings, and overhaul of locos and coaches as a burden, rather than fulfilling a charitable objective.

 

To be honest this makes my blood boil. To say that we welcome the railway, but on the other hand we dont want any commercial competition from you at all smacks of protectionism of the worst kind. If it wasn't a legal agreement, I would tear up those commitments immediately.
i did visit the line this summer. As far as refeshments were concerned there was very little on offer. At Norden there was a shack with cold drinks in the carpark, nothing at the station. Nothing at Corfe. Nothing on the train. At Swanage there was just some kind of pop-up stand in the booking hall and he had completely sold out of everything - not that it looked as if he had much in the first place anyway. He couldn't even sell us a cup of tea. Food sales can be very lucrative indeed and every other railway I can think of has cafes and restaurants and sells refreshments at virtually every station. Is there a gift shop at Swanage? If so I'm not sure I saw it.

 

The Car Park at Norden (Purbeck Park) is owned and operated by Dorset council. The Cob Building (part of which was the former car park attendants office) is leased out under a competitive tender to a third party. At Norden Station there is a refreshment "kiosk" within one of the waiting rooms selling a small range of hot and cold beverages and confectionery. It is volunteer staffed as its takings do not justify paid staff. At Corfe Station is the former Birds Nest Buffet carriage which used to be at Swanage. It is staffed by a mix of paid and volunteer staff. It sells a wider range of hot and cold beverages, snacks and confectionery. At Swanage there is the booking hall buffet. It is staffed by a mix of paid and volunteer staff. It sells a range of hot and cold beverages, snacks and confectionery. Swanage railway has struggled somewhat with static catering for a number of reasons: (1) the level of competition for the catering £ especially in Swanage with Greggs, The Co-Op, Budgens and approximately 30 other outlets within Swanage, in Corfe Castle the demand seems to be for either pub lunches or for fresh baked goods from the bakery. (2) recruiting and retaining volunteer staff. There are many volunteer roles but experience suggests that volunteering to work in catering is one of the less appealing. Swanage railway has struggled to recruit volunteers for catering roles over the past few years and it hasnt been for the want of trying. This year seems to have been particularly challenging resulting in some of the outlets not opening on some days. Paying staff significantly impacts the margins in catering though in Swanage as a whole over the past 2 years recruiting paid staff has proven very challenging indeed as evidenced by the help wanted signs in most catering outlets. Some outlets werent able to open 7 days a week or in the evenings as they simply could not recruit the staff. One of the other issues with paid staff is that they are seeking permanent year round roles. Swanage Railway isnt able to offer year round roles. The days of large numbers of students seeking seasonal or holiday work has long since gone. Those who do also work tend to do so during "term time" in their "university town". (3) Having suitable premises on the railway where a catering outlet can operate from given the legal requirements relating to washing facilities etc. Quite simply suitable locations arent available on the railway to provide a large sit down cafe serving a wide range of meals and snacks. Generally speaking catering is a volatile business - you can make good money or lose large sums of money and in a holiday area demand can vary wildly.

The Gift and souvenir shop is in the station building accessed from the platform. It is volunteer staffed.

 

Companies are constrained by their Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association. SRT and SRC recognise that their structure is no longer optimal hence the moves towards a restructuring and reconstitution. However at the end of the day however you salami slice it, the reality is that money comes in and money goes out and the books have to be balanced. Charities have to be extremely careful not to operate outside of their stated charitable objectives as to do so can place both the organisation and the trustees in jeopardy of action being taken against them.

 

"Food sales can be very lucrative indeed"

From personal experience , in the context of a heritage railway, this is usually far from the reality if staff have to be paid.

 

Brand new Swanning around:

"If the Company continues to make losses without a business plan to put the organisation back in the black, then Charity Commission rules will prevent the Trust from backfilling the accounts without the directors being personally responsible for the debts"

According to the new SA, the railway didn't make a profit during the summer 2023 (wonder if thats 100% down to the Wareham service).


"Already we've initiated a voluntary redundancy process, are looking into the disposal of assets surplus to the railway, and indeed are looking at cuts elsewhere". Wonder what assets the railway website is talking about

The good news is a business plan IS being made, but I would have thought it will need to be published quite quickly as the charity will need to transfer money to the business.

It will be very interesting to see where they see opportunities, or losses

While they are in big financial difficulties this winter, hopefully with a frequent 40/45 mins service never summer concentrating on Norden to Swanage, plus less steam during mid-week low season, looking at between Easter and May half term. Hopefully if they get through this winter then the railway can be successful again.

I would love to know the cost of storing the Pullman and I believe one of the bullied as well!?! I know we keep banging on about the carriage shed but the railway is spending money to house a carriage or two elsewhere over winter. Plus it could give undercover storage for not just carrages, but the T3 and T9 over winter

 

As the song puts it"It ain't necessarily so".

 

I would have thought there would have a business plan anyway ! Most companies have a business plan that they then adjust as circumstances change. At least I get the impression that's what the likes of sVR, Bluebell, KESR etc are doing as a norm.

 

Margate storage is a commercial agreement between Locomotive Storage and the Swanage Raikway…but it’s cost effective.

 

The Company has regularly updated the business plan to reflect changes in circumstances. Whether you call it a new plan or an updated plan, a "new plan" is being created to reflect the very significant changes to the world in which the railway operates. (Post Covid, Ukraine etc etc).

The new business plan once enacted should enable the company to break even / make a modest profit though it will still need SRT to act as a cash flow funder (as it has for many years). It will also still require SRT to continue provide the funding for capex projects. The challenge though is to raise £450K from donations to "fill in the black hole" as this sum can not be generated internally.

We do not know what actions the company proposes to take to increase revenue and cut costs. We can only hope that to ease the burden it is able to eliminate some of the huge drains on cash which have to date showed little or no return. If there is a requirement or desire to operate the Wareham service then somehow external funding to cover any losses has to be found. It can not continue to consume resources (cash and time) as it now has for two years. Likewise there needs to be a well considered process to match the future traction requirements with the resources made available.

 

I believe some railways do quite well out of food sales. The IOWSR for example I think just about covers it’s day to day costs with ticket sales, and the food and shop sales then generate additional revenue for other projects.

The difference is though that Haven Street is a captive market for food, not much else around. Both Swanage and Corfe Castle have plenty of other food outlets. I myself am guilty of not buying food at the Swanage Railway. When I visit I tend to buy fish and chips for lunch in Swanage, and then a cake or ice cream from the bakery or ice cream shop in Corfe.

 

Likewise, used to have lunch and snacks at the Birds Nest Buffet, now it’s fish and chips at the two chippies on the front.

 

Thanks, just a gut feeling that Swanage are 12 months behind everyone else in their plans, hopefully the Trust will be keeping a close eye on proceedings and how it pans out.

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