With many tourist attractions in the South West facing severe financial hardship due to the Foot & Mouth outbreak, the West Somerset Railway (WSR) is proving that there definitely is "light at the end of the tunnel" by posting impressive half-year results which are 10% up on last year.
As Britain's longest heritage steam railway, the WSR has already chalked up over 87,000 passengers, a substantial increase of 7,619 visitors over the same period last year, and the scenic line looks to be on course to break its previous record of 154,000 passengers carried over the Millennium year.
And the WSR, which has painstakingly recreated the 'Golden Age of Steam' over the 20-mile former Great Western Railway branch line from Bishops Lydeard, near Taunton to Minehead, is hoping for a double bumper celebration in 2001 by marking its Silver Jubilee year of operations after re-opening in 1976.
Passing through some of the West Country's most delightful rural scenery, the WSR prides itself on the quality of its heritage experience and literally transporting visitors back in time to the heyday of the old GWR.
West Somerset Railway plc Chairman Dennis Taylor said: "As you'd expect, we're obviously chuffed that 2001 has been a very good year for us so far despite the Foot & Mouth crisis which had everyone worried that visitors would simply stay away.
"Throughout our Silver Jubilee year, we have not only sought to broaden the WSR's nostalgic appeal to visitors of all ages but also actively marketed the railway as the best way for people to see the countryside safely during the height of the Foot & Mouth crisis. "With passenger numbers up by almost 10% on the same period in 2000, reaching a total of 87,047 by the end of July, things are looking good for back-to-back record breaking seasons and our 2001 target of 170,000 passengers. But that said, we know only too well that one Swallow doesn't make a Summer, and we certainly won't be counting our proverbial chickens too soon or become complacent!"
The WSR has experienced significant improvements right across the board with revenue from ticket sales, the Minehead station shop and on-train buffet catering operations all doing well. Similarly, driver experience courses have also made a considerable contribution to the wellbeing of the company's overall profitability. WSR Managing Director Mark Smith comments: "Throughout the Foot & Mouth crisis, people were denied their usual access to the countryside but the WSR has been able to help them get a fix of greenery! By offering visitors the chance to enjoy some stunning Somerset scenery from the comfort of our trains and without risk of spreading the virus, we have done the right thing by our farming neighbours and actually grown our business as well.
"Local people too have been able to go out for an enjoyable day trip during these past few months, without compromising any of the measures taken to prevent the spread of this dreadful disease which we now all hope is over.
"We hope these new visitors, like our regular customers, will come back again and again to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of steam in the countryside using this nostalgic and most relaxing form of transport. The WSR operates all year round and in the next few months we have an all star line-up Autumn Gala to look forward to in early September, plus our usual Santa Special trains which run during November and December."
This page is not from the official WSR web site. Text extracted, more or less verbatum, from official published press release dated 8 August 2001