WCRC Licence Suspended

Reading that my first thought is, will there be a strong enough incentive for those involved to make that happen if WCR absence from the scene proves to be for the long term.

 

E-mail to nicola.sturgeon.msp@scottish.parliament.uk

Dear Mrs Sturgeon,

While I am not one of your constituents - or even as many people round here say, sadly not even able to vote SNP, I was wondering if you would be kind enough to look into what is happening to The Jacobite, the summer steam train service from Fort William to Mallaig.

You may have heard that its operator, West Coast Railways has had its operating licence suspended by Network Rail until next month, and there is no guarantee that it will be reinstated at this stage.

The service is vital to the local economy, carrying several hundred people each day, all of whom are spending money in Fort William and Mallaig. Local business’s are already very concerned. My (Scottish) wife and I travelled on the service in 2009, going on it meant two nights accommodation in Fort William and meals both there and in Mallaig. Like the paddle steamer ‘Waverley’ it is a very iconic Scottish experience.

The suspension of West Coast also has implications for the Steam Tours that were included in the latest ‘Scotrail’ franchise, including the newly reopened Border Railway which we are hoping we might visit by steam when we next visit my wifes family in Scotland.

Yours Sincerely

 

Whoops, try FirstMinister@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

 

It's "businesses," may as well get it right.
Not sure the "not even able to vote SNP" and "my (Scottish) wife" are necessary even if true. Keep to the facts of the matter rather than trying to curry favour.

 

Thats a figure plucked from thin air, using that number gives the suggestion that the rail tour industry is worth over a million pounds a day, thats 365 million a year. Given that number there would be many more people in there going for a share of that revenue, and we would not be in the situation where there was only one operator.

 

An order of magnitude calculation suggests that -Belmond Pullman aside - every steam tour makes a gross income of about £50k: roughly 400 passengers at roughly £125 each. I don't know how many steam tours there are in a year, but again going order of magnitude, if there are, say, 200 tours, that gives a gross income for the industry of about £10million per year. That figure may be out by a factor of two, but not I suspect by a factor of ten.

Of course that's the direct income to the industry, shared between owners, operators, promoters and suppliers. What is hard to know is what the multiplier effect is of income outside the industry, i.e. indirect spend on hotels, restaurants, ancillary travel etc.

Tom

 

I have sent my adapted E-mail which others may like to copy :

Dear Mrs Sturgeon,

I write as an exiled Scot now resident in England but a frequent visiter to Scotland - especially the Fort William area where I enjoy the working of the seasonal “Jacobite” service from Fort William to Mallaig and its operation with steam locomotives.

You may be aware that this service is operated by West Coast Railway Company (WCRC), based in Carnforth Lancashire, and that the company had its Track Access Agreement suspended from midnight on Good Friday 3 April 2015 following concerns raised by Network Rail, the railway infrastructure provider. Among other operations the “Jacobite” service is a major portion of the company’s service and also a major contributor to the economy of the Fort William area.

This is achieved by carrying several hundred people each day, all of whom are spending money in Fort William and Mallaig and local businesses are already expressing concern about the consequences of the suspension as well as the uncertainty regarding the uncertain length of it.

The suspension of WCRC also has implications for the programme of Steam Tours that were included in the latest ‘ScotRail’ franchise, including the newly reopened Border Railway, which has been the centrepiece of the Scottish Government’s recent Rail Revival policies that are proving so successful.

Is the Scottish Government able to offer any confirmation that the current programme for Steam Tours in Scotland, including the Jacobite service, will be operating as per the advertised schedules from both Abellio as the new ScotRail operator and WCRC as the “Jacobite” operator.

Yours Sincerely

 

As noted by Jamessquared, the figure I quoted is the total on all sectors, including the non-railway activities such as tourist centres and their loss of income, hence the multiplier effect. For a more local demonstration one only needs to look at the ELR and see how much Ramsbottom has benefitted from ELR activity; before its arrival Ramsbottom was a dying town but is now a thriving town with businesses looking for property to expand their activity. Multiply that by the larger size of WCRC operations and you'll note that the ripples extend FAR beyond the railway environment - hence the concern of Fort William over the Jacobite !

 

Indeed, though I think £1m per day sounds too high a multiplier, when the direct income is only £50k. In effect, it would mean every passenger paying £20 off the railway for every £1 in ticket price: that would suggest each passenger shelling out over £2000 on hotels and restaurants each time they took a trip, which I think is unlikely. Even a 5:1 multiplier feels like quite a lot: that would imply a total value of the industry, nationwide, of about £50m per year, or a million per week.

Tom

 

Clearly there is an economic value to the local economy of the Jacobite but we mustn't ignore why WCRC has been suspended. Seeking the intervention of politicians in the due regulatory process is a very dangerous option.
It invites scrutiny with 2 possible consequences. Firstly, it may be thought that the issues in this case are indicative of industry standards raising concern over the suitability of steam on the network.
The alternative is that pressure is brought to restore the licence before it is justified to do so. This reintroduces the said weaknesses and emboldens those under scrutiny. That is not a good outcome either.

 

why the hell are you writing to to the Scottish first minister for? you think she is going to drive the ruddy trains safely?

direct your ire at those responsible, - hint, they are in Carnforth, not Holyrood.

 

I am struggling to see what levers the Scottish government could pull. This is for the ORR, Networkrail and WCR to sort out.

 

Quite. The likes of the Jacobian will have an effect beyond the railfares, but a trip to a town even with a decent stopping time will result in 400 odd additional visitors, the impact of which will be limited to say a meal and a drink or two. Far less than the cost of the initial ticket.

 

Quite. Journalistic sensationalism in an attempt to expedite the process is very unwise. If this were ferry company that had been suspended for safety reasons would we be seeking that they be restored or some other market intervention?
Folk need to be careful that their passion for steam doesn't cloud common sense and good judgement. And I write as a lover of steam.

 

Whatever the pros and cons of your approach to the Sturgeon, your exiled status is an irrelevance.

 

Jacobian?

 

I blame autocorrect.

 

But as others have said, the last thing that is needed is politicians wading into something concerned with safety.