Jacobite has derailed. "Banavie north signaller reports the driver of West Coast Railways 5Y69 from 2Y68 engine was completing a move where the engine is rounded, the leading tender axle has derailed over 3B points ground frame."

  West Coast Railways has reached an agreement with the Office of Rail and Road that will see Central Door Locking installed across the fleet of Mark 1 carriages that they use on the mainline.

These carriages have been used on charter services, including the ever-popular Jacobite, for 25 years, and WCRC says that they understand how much passengers value this as part of their experience.

Last year, The Jacobite used Mark 2 carriages, but following feedback and an evaluation of the costs associated with this coaching stock, the operator has approached the Office of Rail and Road to bring back Mark 1 coaches into use.

The charter operator is working with the ORR to finalise a timeline of CDL fitment so that the 2026 Jacobite season can start.

The start of the 2026 season has been delayed but a start date is not yet known but will be shared as soon as possible. West Coast says it is working with the ORR to come up with a plan that “balances the technical requirements of the installation with the goal of commencing the 2026 Jacobite season”.

An update from The National

West Coast Railways (WCR) has said it has reached an agreement with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to install central door locking on its heritage carriages on its entire fleet of Mark 1 carriages used on the Fort William to Mallaig route.

The train previously relied on stewards manually locking doors but the regulator demanded an automated system.

Tourism worries after delay to new Harry Potter train season


The Jacobite steam train and the Glenfinnan Viaduct appeared in the Harry Potter films

The operators of a train famous for its role as the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter films have warned of a delay to the start of its new season.

West Coast Railways' (WRC) Jacobite steam train operates on the iconic West Highland Line from Fort William to Mallaig. It has sought a safety exemption to use old-style Mark 1 carriages that are popular with its customers, but the application needs to be reviewed by the regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

Business group West Highland Chamber said the rail journey was a "vital economic engine" for the area and added it had already received reports of some visitors cancelling accommodation due to "uncertainty" around the new season.

WRC said it had not sold tickets or set a start date for the new season. In the past the service usually started running in March or April.

WCR supplied film-maker Warner Bros with the locomotive and carriages for the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter film series. The West Highland Line's historic Glenfinnan Viaduct also featured.

The rail journey has been described as one of the world's most scenic, and is popular with railway enthusiasts as well as film fans.

WCR was in a long-running dispute with the ORR about having to install central locking on its Mark 1 carriages to prevent passengers from opening doors when the train is moving.

Boss James Shuttleworth told BBC Scotland News the system would be installed, but this would take time and it had applied for an exemption to use the carriages meantime. He said exemptions had been successfully secured in the past, with stewards manually locking doors.

Shuttleworth said for a few seasons it had used more modern Mark 2 carriages, which have central locking. But he said a decision had been made not use them this season because of their reduced capacity, and that they also require a diesel locomotive at the back to provide power to an air conditioning system.

He said using Mark 2s had resulted in lost income, and customer feedback showed a preference for the Mark 1 carriages.

Shuttleworth said details on the start of the new season would be released as soon as they were available.

The ORR said no agreement had been reached on an exemption and the application was being reviewed.

West Highland Chamber said it recognised that the Jacobite steam train had played an important part in the local hospitality and retail sectors for many years.

A spokesperson said: "The Jacobite steam service is more than just a rail journey; it is a vital economic engine for the West Highlands. While we are encouraged by the news that West Coast Railways is working toward a 2026 start date with their traditional Mark 1 rolling stock, we cannot ignore the impact that uncertainty has already had on our business community.

"We have already seen reports of cancellations across local accommodation providers due to the initial lack of clarity. Therefore, while a delayed start is not the ideal scenario, it is a far better outcome than a total suspension of service, and we welcome the progress being made on safety upgrades."

The spokesperson added that the chamber hoped to work collaboratively with WCR during this and future seasons.

The criticisms come as analysis by The Scotsman showed nearly one third of the 95 reviews of The Jacobite on the Tripadvisor website this year gave it just one star, and more than half only one or two stars.

Passengers who used the Fort William-Mallaig return service vented their anger at cancelled bookings after the start of the season was delayed at short notice because of WCR’s failure to install central door locking on its heritage carriages and had to bring in more modern replacements.

They also expressed upset at the train being hauled by a diesel rather than steam locomotive on several days.

Several complained that opportunities to take photos of views from the line, on which the Hogwarts Express ran in the Harry Potter films, were ruined by the train’s “filthy” windows.

Ms Cameron, writing in the West Word community newspaper, said WCR passengers were “berating and complaining day after day of their disappointment in their Jacobite experience and dreading the journey back”, buying window cleaner and wipes to clean their carriage windows.

“Gone are the days when the end of the season was marked by celebrating on the platform to thank WCR for coming to Mallaig each year,” she said.

“Now there seems to be little interaction between the Jacobite crew and guests, except for Tannoy announcements.”

Repairing Scotland's historic 'Harry Potter' bridge

The Glenfinnan Viaduct is one of the best known landmarks in Scotland but at 123 years old, it's in need of restoration work.
Rope access teams have been working day and night in recent months to strengthen the bridge's concrete arches and trackside areas.

Made famous by the Harry Potter film series, hundreds of visitors gather at the viaduct each day to watch the "Hogwarts Express" train cross its 21 arches.

The BBC's Iain Macinnes visited Glenfinnan to see how the work is progressing.

Nobody fell out of The Jacobite when I saw it cross Glenfinnan Viaduct earlier this week. So, as far as I'm concerned it has an unblemished operational safety record as observed by me.

Nobody fell out of The Jacobite when I saw it cross Glenfinnan Viaduct earlier this week. So, as far as I'm concerned it has an unblemished operational safety record as observed by me.

to try and sustain itself following a crackdown on traditional railway carriage safety regulations, which it argues has threatened the future of heritage services.

West Coast Railways, the biggest operator of specialised historic steam and classic diesel trains on the UK network, has taken on a large fleet owned by Riviera Trains, with carriages that are compliant with rules on door locks.

The operator has been in a back-and-forth with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), which has demanded that heritage trains such as the Jacobite service used for “Hogwarts Express” tourist trips, be fitted with a central locking system of carriage doors.
The safety watchdog has told heritage operators, including West Coast, that they should introduce central-locking carriages after it banned doors with locks that could be operated by passengers on the train in 2005. However, heritage companies have been able to apply for exemptions from the ORR throughout the years.

The heritage Jacobite service, made famous for its appearance in the Harry Potter films, includes 1950s-era Mark 1 coaches, which consist of traditional hinged doors without a central-locking system.

Services for train enthusiasts and Harry Potter fans on the Jacobite run between Mallaig and Fort William across the Glenfinnan Viaduct in the Scottish Highlands, yet West Coast had a delayed start to their summer season this year due to a crackdown on regulations surrounding the doors – something they said had not only affected them, but over 100,000 tourist passengers and local buinsesses in the area.

The ORR argues that these types of coaches have a poor safety record, are likely to suffer far more damage in a collision, and have been connected to many fatalities and injuries in the past.

Yet West Coast says that they are made safe by having two locks on the door, one of which is a deadbolt, and a steward present in each carriage.

West Coast Railways has now reached a compromise by purchasing 60 Mark 2 coaches from Riviera, which will be transferred to their ownership from 30 September.

The blue and grey coaches include central door locking systems that will comply with ORR standards. However, there is concern that these trains will offer as much historical charm as the Mark 1 coaches.

West Coast Railway told The Independent that “The ambience and the atmosphere of the train are better served by the use of Mark 1s, there’s no doubt. And there’s no physical reason why we can’t still use them, other than the locking regulations.

“But this deal with Riviera at least guarantees the availability of rolling stock and gives us more trains to run and means we can safeguard our renowned services well into the future.

“We continue to seek a resolution to our door locking dispute with the ORR and will either press for an exemption for the Mark 1s, fit central door locking or simply not use them again, which would be a pity. ”

The newly acquired trains will move from Riviera’s rail yard at Burton-upon-Trent to West Coast’s depot in Carnforth, Lancashire.

The Jacobite steam train was suspended in March this year by the West Coast while it was trying to still acquire an exemption for its lack of central locking systems, something that they have managed to obtain for nearly 30 years.

However, they announced in June that their service would resume but with a reduced capacity, as the trains would be slightly shorter due to using only the small number of available carriages with central door locks fitted.

West Coast took legal action against ORR after it refused to exempt the company from the regulations once more.

West Coast complained that the multimillion-pound cost of having to install central locking could “destroy” its business and argued its door systems were just as safe.

However, a judge dismissed the operator’s case and concluded that the ORR had taken a “justifiable” approach.

The vintage carriages that we use on the Jacobite Steam Train trip require a central door locking exemption certificate in order to run on the mainline railway network. In past years this has been automatically granted, however this year that has not been the case and a more detailed application has had to be submitted.

West Coast Railways (WCR) the operators of the Jacobite applied to the governing body of the railways the ORR, (Office of Rail and Road) for a short-term exemption certificate whilst awaiting the full application consideration. The ORR have refused to issue this and will consider the full proposal but are unsure as to how long this will take.

Due to this, we are unable to run our Jacobite service until the exemption certificate is granted.

Please accept our sincere apologies for this possible disruption in our service, however the timing of when we will be able to resume our service is completely beyond our control.

WCR will continue to work closely with the ORR to obtain the necessary clearance for the Jacobite service to resume.

We will communicate messages via email and SMS text to all affected bookings for trips that we might have to cancel and full refunds will be given following any cancellations of our trips.

Although we have suspended the Jacobite trip until we reach agreement with the ORR, we are hopeful of reaching an agreement and be able to resume our service. 

The Jacobite trips that have been cancelled are the 28th to the 30th March 2024.

Further communications regarding cancellations will be first sent our affected passengers, then will be announced on these News Articles.

West Coast Railways.

“All heritage operators were told several years ago that in order to operate after 31 March 2023 they either needed to fit central door locking or obtain an exemption from us. West Coast Railway's application for an exemption failed and they made a claim for judicial review. A temporary exemption was granted in order to maintain the status quo, enabling WCR to operate whilst the litigation reached a conclusion. Despite this, WCR chose to sell tickets when it was far from certain that a new application for an exemption would be granted, either in time for the commencement of services or at all. It submitted an exemption application on 8 March, which we are now assessing. ORR is disappointed that WCR appears not to have made sensible contingency plans for the benefit of their customers.”

The operator of a train service that featured in the Harry Potter films has lost a High Court challenge against a rail regulator over door safety.

West Coast Railways (WCR) challenged demands for central locking systems to be fitted to the carriage doors.

The owners of the Jacobite - which appeared as the Hogwarts Express in the boy wizard films - said implementing the new measures could cost £7m.

It operates on the iconic West Highland Line from Fort William to Mallaig.

WCR took legal action against the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) after it refused to exempt the company from rules banning the use of hinged doors without central locking.

Rail regulators were apparently furious when crowds of trainspotters and railway enthusiasts packed stations at Helensburgh, Westerton and Dalmuir to watch the train travelling up to Fort William last month.

Even those single line sections are now discouraged ...

From the Oban Times

The place to view heritage trains is on a heritage railway. Sighting same on the national network can be a pleasing bonus, but can not be relied upon* and should not be a cause of complaint if not achieved.

* There are exceptions such as single track sections, or viewpoints nearest the line upon which the heritage traction is expected.

Bosses of the ?Harry Potter? steam train have been sworn to secrecy over timings and the route it will take when it heads back to their Lancashire headquarters next month because of Covid-19.

Rail regulators were apparently furious when crowds of trainspotters and railway enthusiasts packed stations at Helensburgh, Westerton and Dalmuir to watch the train travelling up to Fort William last month.

Not only were there fears that excited spectators could accidentally fall on to the tracks, but videos posted on YouTube showed few people wore masks or kept social distancing.

Families gathered in train stations across the west and central belt yesterday evening as the Harry Potter train steamed its way through Scotland. 

The locomotive and carriages travelled all the way from Fort William to its winter base at Carnforth in Lancashire, marking the end of the Jacobite's season.

Harry Potter fans congregated at stations across the central belt for a highly anticipated chance to spot the classical carriages on their journey south.

At Drumry train station, several fans waited hours for the locomotive to charge through the tracks... for their view to be completely stolen by a ScotRail train.