Ever since the Manx Electric Railway passed into public ownership in 1957, there have been many reports into the heritage railways. Mike Goodwyn documented many in his book “Is This Any Way to Run a Railway?”Some reports remain in everyone’s mind whilst others have had no long-term significance. The Transmark report and the follow up conducted by Tramway Museum Services at the behest of Ramsey Town Commissioners, are perhaps the two most in readers minds.In addition, during December 1976 whilst the future of the then closed Laxey/Ramsey section of the MER hung very much in the balance, the Manx Electric Railway Society engaged consultant railway engineer, John Ryan, to produce a report. Some six months later, trams happily returned to Ramsey with the reprieve of the MER’s northern line. With the sad passing of Mike Goodwyn, other reports of more recent times have perhaps received less scrutiny.
Looking from Port Jack, southbound Winter Saloon No.19 rattles and bumps its way alongside King Edward Road in Onchan. With the almost complete absence of any effective ballast and proper track drainage, the track bed consists of little more than compacted mud. Apart from offering an uncomfortable ride, badly buckled and uneven track promotes premature wear intramcar bodies, wheels and trucks. One well known MER character from the 1980s was prone to quipping "you can always tell when a tram derails as the ride becomes much smoother". The long overdue allocation of sufficient funding and the adoption of modern working practices, has seen significant progress made with the wholesale renewal and overhaul of the MER’s fixed infrastructure over the last fifteen years.Very few stretches of Permanent Way, especially north of Laxey, require anything like major attention, and is acknowledged as being in the best condition quite possibly since before the Great War. Ride quality is generally excellent, with trams (and their passengers) no longer being subjected to pitching and rocking, all to the accompaniment of regular 'hammer-blows' from wheels hitting innumerable defective and dropped track joints. The construction of effective drainage, and widespread use of suitable ballast, concrete sleepers, modern track fixings, new rails with Thermit welded joints, ensures that track replaced in recent times should be good for many years to come, requiring only the very minimum of basic maintenance. (Photo: A. Spencer)
In 1994 a report was commissioned by Robert Smith, Transport Executive, from Rail-Track Services, that highlighted the need for investment, but did not seem to achieve an increase in resources.
In 1999 a further report was provided by Jarvis covering both the condition of the Heritage Railways infrastructure and a ten-year programme of renewals which followed.
In 2004, 2006 and 2008 Collinson Dutton Limited (CDL), provided updates but progress was just not fast enough. The second closure of the Laxey to Ramsey section occurred in 2008 which was on the advice of CDL.
As a result of the 2008 closure the then Chief Minister invited Mr Ken Tomlinson M.B.E. to undertake an inquiry which was laid before Tynwald in April 2009.This report noted that in the first forty-five years of Government ownership there had been a chronic lack of capital investment and continued safe operation was only as a result of the commitment and ingenuity of the staff involved. Mr Tomlinson’s final conclusion was that the bigger decisions should only ever be taken in the light of, and giving appropriate weighting to, all available and relevant information and advice.
Also, in 2009 the Department of Tourism and Leisure, DTL and Public Transport saw a new team appointed, Colin Kniveton as DTL CEO, Ian Longworth as Director of Transport and Peter Maddocks as Chief Engineer.The new team immediately started to evaluate the situation and then sought funding for both buses and heritage railways to be operated in an appropriate safe and efficient manner.
A number of other reports from this period are not in the public domain, but the Government’s Budget published in the Pink Book began to reveal a significant and consistent increase in capital expenditure in these areas.
In 2011 (one report that was made public), a report by Ecorys UK Limited assessed the value of the Heritage Railways to the Manx Economy, concluding that the overall contribution by the Heritage Railways to the GDP of the Manx Economy is equivalent to £11m annually. This must have been a great help in justifying the new levels of capital spend.It should be borne in mind that the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway was, at this time, operated by Douglas Corporation, and that contribution was not included in the assessment.
As far as published reports go all goes quiet until after the next general election in 2016 when the new Treasury Minister, Alf Cannan, was appointed. His proposal was to save £15m from the Government Budget with a Securing Added Value and Efficiencies (SAVE) programme.
Two of the many ideas were:
- Externalisation of Bus Services.
- Review of the Heritage Railways (steam, electric, horse trams).
Initially the accountants, PWC, studied the Proof of Concept to see what might be achieved. For the bus services they noted a potential saving of £1m per annum might be achieved over a five-year period but not without risks including an apparent loss of political direction. This may be a subtle way of suggesting political oversight had been allowed to be go too far and was costing money.For the heritage railways the initial option considered was total closure which was not supported, so this mutated into a review of costs. Interestingly they noted that railway revenue had increased from £993k in 2011/2 to £1.6m in 2016/7 and that they did not consider the concept of costs review to be likely to be successful. Despite this recommendation the process continued.
The report into the bus services was undertaken by TASS and the heritage railways by Systra. Both concluded that the current models worked well, and the most notable suggestion was removing the direct political control and replacing this with a Board. This new concept would not only include political representation, but also other appropriate representatives.It noted no financial or other advantages of splitting the organisation up. The outcome for public transport was a revenue budget reduction of £1m spread over three years which was not justified by any of the reports.The outcome of the whole SAVE initiative appears not to have saved the £15m it was intended to since no public statements have trumpeted such an achievement.
The world as we knew it stopped with covid, seeing the Island borders closed in March 2020 until June 2021.There was some limited heritage railway operation, but no visitors except for a small number from Guernsey. During this period the political focus then changed to the centre of the Department of Infrastructure. Beaman’s were commissioned by the Council of Ministers with the aim of the review to appraise the capacity and capability of the centre of the DoI given its relative size and the scope of its work.
In June 2021, the Beaman’s report appeared and although it had no impact on the Transport Services it did note that the DoI was under resourced for what it was expected to deliver; there had been quite a bit of political “mud” thrown at the DoI which was clearly not justified.
In September 2021, following the general election Alf Cannan was elected Chief Minister. The apparently failing SAVE programme was replaced by his new initiative, the Island Plan. The priorities listed included increasing the Island population quite significantly and the issues this created which required resolution, including the need for a transport strategy, of which no progress appears to have been made. The MER and Snaefell lines get a mention for drainage work in the Laxey area as part of a scheme to prevent a repetition of the flooding of the valley. Apart from that, the plan was laden with many words with little relevant progress being made.
Outside this the Chief Minister announced another review of the heritage railways and the world sensed a hidden agenda of partial or total closure. Systra was again appointed to undertake the study which repeated many of the tasks which they reported on in 2018.We really must ask why a large, international, and well-respected consultancy company would reach a totally different answer just five years after the first Systra report, particularly when tourist numbers had bounced back and begun to grow again following the Covid interruption.
There were some changes to the Terms of Reference for the new Systra report which are worth noting. Under the pressure of previous budget cost cutting measures, the whole of transport services had been integrated, where skills were used across the different modes. Thus, the Station Masters at Port Erin and Ramsey looked after bus, rail, and minibuses in their area. One small group of staff looked after customer service, including marketing across the business. The stated objective of splitting such service delivery into three sections was that it permitted clearer oversight of the costs of each (overlooking the ironical consequence of multiplication of staff).
Other aspects to note included the updating of the 2011 Ecorys UK Limited report into the contribution to the economy which was then £11m per annum. This used a methodology agreed with the Treasury and was accepted by all. Whilst this figure has been updated to now be just over £17m, there is no agreement indicated on the methodology so one wonders if it is the same as before.
Since 2012 the passengers’ numbers have grown substantially with an increase in number of visiting coaches and cruise ship calls to the Island. Beyond this the horse tramway has been added to the national system. Bearing in mind inflation, whilst this number may be lower than expected, it is nevertheless substantial.
One does wonder what was in the first draft of the second Systra report, and whilst the Minister indicated they had to review the spelling, it took over two months to do this. Does spelling include numbers? Put simply £17,000,000 seems low compared with the 2011 report of £11,000,000 which was accepted by all.
The latest Systra report includes suggestions about adding commuter services particularly to the MER (whereas previously these comments have focused on the Steam Railway).The periodic operation of the commuter steam trains had been quite successful but has now almost disappeared. In reality new rolling stock would be required for a full-time commuter service.For it to be competitive with the other forms of transport, journey times and distribution of passengers in Douglas without a change of mode would need to be resolved.It is clear that considerable work would need to be done to raise the speed above the current 25mph including resolving level crossing issues.
The review of the apparent politically favoured options beyond closure including curtailment of the Steam Railway beyond Castletown and the third closure of the MER from Laxey to Ramsey again including a cycle path alternative was included. They are all reviewed in detail and ruled out. The positive proposal is the need to extend the Horse Tramway and MER to the Sea Terminal to restore and increase passenger numbers which will also improve the financial out-turn.
Going back to before transport was nationalised, the Isle of Man Railway Company owned and operated Isle of Man Road Services under common management. This is reflected in the recent structure, but it should be noted that Appendix 1 of the Terms of Reference for the second Systra report indicates that there will not be a Director of Transport going forward. History shows that this is a mistaken approach, particularly where it is clear from the reports that strong leadership is required to obtain the maximum benefit for the Island, ensuring a proper and unified approach to expenditure. If it works don’t fix it! (unless of course the secret intention is sabotage).
Much of the rest of the second Systra report was a straight repeat of the previous report including the use of volunteers, charitable status and benchmarking with the UK. Two very positive points made in the new report were the comments on the restraints of a Government focus on marketing including the website and shops making secondary spend more difficult to attain. In summary, comparison with the UK heritage sector continues to show the Isle of Man railways cost less to operate than their UK peers.
So, we now have numerous reports, supporting the ongoing operations of the railways in their entirety which with proper funding can create a greater benefit to the GDP of the Island and its wider economy. Despite this it appears the Chief Minister’s view is that professional leadership is no longer required and political tinkering in virtual ignorance of professional recommendations continues to be acceptable to the present administration.
What appears to have been a six-figure sum has been spent on the reports listed here and one is left with the impression that the consistent, positive answers the reports provided are not those which the political establishment wish to hear.
At the end of October 2023, the Minister was asked in Tynwald about progress, and it was clear the draft report had already been delivered. The recommendations were not released until 9th January 2024 and the full report on 17th January 2024.
We gained an insight into the delays from a Freedom of Information Request which revealed an exchange of correspondence with Systra. Perhaps from the notes of the 6th December meeting, which raised thirteen points for further review, this is the most interesting.
“Closure assumptions need to reflect possible decisions. SYSTRA to adjust section closure narrative to:
- includes a cycle path replacement for the MER.
- be explicit that there is no assessment of the net effect of leisure spend from loss of passenger spend vs increase in cyclist spend”.
This perhaps demonstrates the distance that Mr Cannan’s Government had travelled in trying to justify an agenda of closure.
On 14th January 2024 the Infrastructure Minister was quoted by Manx Radio as branding the Systra strategy as "wishful" and on 15th January that further capital spending on the railways could be cut further, supporting the proposition that those in power consider that the tone of the 2024 Systra report gives the wrong answer even though the conclusions were so similar to the 2018 report.
In a Tynwald question the Minister revealed there was a big drop in Horse Tramway passenger numbers since it has been truncated (contrary to the will of Tynwald).It is interesting that no one seemed to notice that he made the comparison with a previous year when the Horse Tram season was curtailed by the work on the Promenades. He acknowledged it was a large reduction but in reality, it was actually even larger than he concluded. The second Systra report indicated a strong need for the Horse Tramway to go back to the Sea Terminal. Again, another public statement by the Minister suggested the previous will of Tynwald will continue to be ignored in this administration.
As part of the terms of reference, a public consultation was also required, and the results form an appendix to the second Systra report. Some 4,896 respondents were noted with just over half being Island residents. Bearing in mind the response to the Freedom of Information request revealed one of the questions from the Department of Infrastructure, which delayed the report, related to turning the MER into a cycle way for active travel. The response in the consultation to this suggestion was just 1% of respondents would take this up supports the report’s conclusion on this issue. Key themes in the responses accounting again for over 50% were Tourism and the Railway Experience.
The four most persistent themes from the responses are worth repeating here:
- The ‘experience’ aspect of the Heritage Railway is a crucial draw to potential users of the railway, and underpins its status as a major visitor attraction on the Island.
- The interface between the Heritage Railway network and Ferry access via the Sea Terminal at Douglas, is particularly important, more so to visitors than residents.
- The heritage railway is seen as a part of the Isle of Man’s national identity, and pride particularly given that local residents often use it to entertain friends and family; and
- The environmentally friendly aspect of the Heritage Railway is very highly valued by some survey respondents, particularly as part of a wider drive towards net zero.
Some nine points were highlighted as the developments respondents wanted to see:
- Extending the Douglas Bay Horse Tram to the Sea Terminal to provide links to ferries, and connect to a more central part of Douglas, also improving access to the MER.
- Even though the Heritage Railway services are not currently well used by commuters, many responses mentioned expanding the service’s operating hours, so that it better suits commuter travel times and offers a true alternative to car/bus travel for commuters.
- The importance of retaining Heritage Railway services as a bastion of the Manx cultural identity as something which demonstrates the Island’s history and appeals to visitors.
- Respondents often mentioned the Dining Car and generally liked the idea and attraction it offered. However some responses mentioned issues with quality and cost.(This seems to have been a problem only since the catering provider changed).
- Retaining smaller enthusiast events but having more of them. Following on from the example set by Beamish Museum, who have gone from hosting a single big all-out enthusiast event, to several scaled-down ones scattered throughout the year. Perhaps it would be beneficial to have several mini transport festivals, each focusing more on an individual railway/tramway.
- Resuming the overhaul of the ex-County Donegal railcars and using them for the first and last trains of the day to provide a more useful, all-weather service at the tail ends of the running season.
- The provision of a recorded audio guide, in order to provide information about the heritage railway and Isle of Man without the need for staff to act as ‘tour guides’.
- Emphasising the heritage aspect of the Railway, e.g. by having staff dressed in period attire; and
- Exploring better and more cost-effective ways of operating the line token system that has been in operation since the opening of the Steam Railway, given the time and resource-intensiveness of operating such a system.
In conclusion the new Systra report highlights everything we have known and believed in for years about the Heritage Railways.As a result of the reports in the public domain the value of these assets is clearly underestimated by some MHK’s and officers in Government, but not the users both locals and tourists.The Government now needs to complete the refurbishment which started back in 1999.It was highlighted by the closure of the Laxey to Ramsey section in 2008 which gave the opportunity to make real progress.This naturally slowed during covid, but as the Systra report notes it now needs the funds to complete refurbishment. Future funding will then only be for more routine maintenance and on a par with other heritage railways and tramways elsewhere. The lion’s share of capital expenditure has been spent and it is unthinkable that those in the political class should be willing (or be permitted) to spoil the ship for a hap 'orth of tar.
The fully illustrated version of this article was published in Manx Transport Review No.102 - Winter 2024/25, which is available from the Manx Electric Railway Society mers.org.im and selected retail outlets.