The Gwili Railway thread

Good answer Matt

 

Thank you, glad it's been thought through and isn't just a "we want to go further" project

 

I know the income from Coach parties is a welcome one, but please can I urge you not to fall into the trap of another railway I'm aware of who appear to have largely sold their soul to Coach parties at the expense of walk-up and enthusiast customers?

At this particular railway, there are multiple stories from the past year of people turning up ad-hoc (they were in the area or passing and thought they'd stop for a ride) only to be told there were no walk-up tickets available because the whole set (4 carriages in this case I think) was booked out to a mix of dining customers and coach parties. They appear to be deeply wedded to pre-booked fares only (even if on the day).

Furthermore, on the Saturday of an enthusiast-focussed gala where they were running two sets of carriages, they booked out half the carriages on one of the sets to a coach party, meaning all the punters who were there for the actual gala were squeezed into the other two carriages.

You clearly cannot sustain a railway on Enthusiast income - that's impossible! But please don't be tempted to sell out to coach parties at the expense of everyone else

That said - I wish you all the best with your extension!

 

Problem is, coach party income isn't just welcome, it's guaranteed. Show me a railway at the minute that can afford to turn down guaranteed money just in case someone might decide to turn up for a ride. For many, finances are on a knife-edge right now. If someone offers to fill four mk1's for me, for one trip or the whole day, I'm taking it (not least because if I don't, another line will.)

 

Short term, I get it. Longer term, I think it's a dangerous strategy that puts all the eggs in one basket, and risks a very large gap if the demand slows. Having visited the railway referred to by @alexl102, my reaction was that I didn't feel especially welcome as an "ordinary" visitor, and that this discouraged me from repeating the experience.