Full steam ahead for community railways

Along with groups from across the UK, they met at Northallerton’s County Hall for the annual summer conference of Railfuture - the leading voluntary body for rail users.

The conference fell on the sixth anniversary of the Wensleydale Railway’s restoration, which runs rains on the formerly disused lines between Leeming Bar and Redmire.

Ruth Annison, marketing manager at the Wensleydale Railway, was one of the speakers at Saturday’s event.

She said the future looks bright for independent railways, provided they are run “in a businesslike manner.”

“These groups must operate like businesses to give customers what they want, at a price they can afford,” she said.

“They must also cherish and look after their volunteers, who are absolutely vital.

“There is a trend at the moment towards people taking domestic holidays, but competition is fierce and we must all work together in order to survive.

“One might think we’d be competing against one another, but in fact we know that if customers use one company they are more likely to try another one out as well.”

Other speakers included Phil Bustard of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and Stephen Walker of the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway. Ms Annison added: “Our aims are environmental and economic - we help people access the beautiful countryside without the need for cars, as well as providing a real boost to the local economy.

“This weekend’s conference was incredibly useful, and brought out some great ideas such as forging closer links between groups as well as trying to link up with other public transport providers.

“There were also some really positive comments made about the Wensleydale Railway itself, which were so nice to hear - especially on the sixth anniversary of its restoration.”

Mike Crowhirst, national chairman of Railfuture, said: “Overall it was a really positive day, with lots of ideas about how we can take independent railway companies into the future.”