THE Swanage Railway hit the headlines late last year when it launched a £450,000‘Save Your Railway’appeal – and it has now announced how it plans to get back on track.
The Swanage Railway Company (SRC), which runs the trains on behalf of the Swanage Railway Trust, has aimed to reduce operating costs and boost revenue to return the operation to profitability (RM December 2023).
“Last year the financial predicament facing the railway required urgent attention to both secure funds to support us over the quieter winter trading period and the production of a plan to stabilise and create a sustainable business base,” explained Gavin Johns, SRC chairman in a memo to trust members.
“It was clear that for us to gain the confidence of those who were being asked to support the railway, a credible business plan was needed covering the next three years that establishes a sustainable trading activity.”
He said the plan needs to be practical and achievable in order to provide confidence both to those responsible for delivering it and to those who are being asked to provide financial support.
He added:“Unchecked optimism can lead to overpromising and underdelivering and as this plan is of such significance, a cautious and prudent approach was required. We have to establish what our trading potential and the issues we need to address are – and to ensure we have the best chance of delivering it.”
In 2023, the line carried 178,000 passengers and has seen good growth in numbers post-pandemic. However, income levels stood relatively still while costs increased due to inflation.
A different approach
With the need to change track to address this, the plan proposes: Starting to transform the railway to become an attraction in its own right and not just a transport service; Being commercially led, using data to inform decisions and with activities having validated positive business cases; and Using existing functional assets to best commercial advantage. The target is to break even in year one (2024/25) and profit in later years.
The plan forecasts income of £3.31m in 2024/25. While conventional ticket sales remain the most significant source (65%), other activities ranging from special events to engineering contracts make up the difference and will continue to rise. Ordinary fares have increased by 7% on average this year – they were frozen last year.
Special events aimed at families and enthusiasts are planned this year, which are predicted to produce £0.5m in income. Each event has a positive business case.
Other products have been reformulated and put on sale – such as driver experience courses and cream teas. Ontrain catering will focus on cream teas using Car 14 and the Maunsell carriages.
Work to build demand from coach tours has led to an encouraging level of bookings.
While no regular scheduled trains to Wareham will operate this year (RM May), DMU services are a feature of the summer timetable.
Critical to this year’s plans are the engineering contract work at Herston and asset sales, an example being the sale of diesel shunter
