Narrow Gauge
THERE IS “no case for the withdrawal of services between Castletown and Port Erin” on the Isle of Man Steam Railway, according to a recently published report on the Isle of Man’s government-operated railways.
In April 2023, the Isle of Man Government – which operates the IoMSR, Manx Electric, and Snaefell Mountain railways, and the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway – appointed transport consultancy firm Systra to “evaluate the operations of the heritage railways… and to determine whether they are being governed, organised and operated optimally” and “to estimate the true value of the heritage railways and how the benefits arising from their operation compare to the costs” (SR544). The review also aimed to evaluate “the appropriateness of the timetable” and number of scheduled services on each railway, and consider “the alternative use of any railway assets found to be no longer required.”
This raised concerns that parts of the railways could be closed, particularly after the Isle of Man Government asked Systra in November to amend its draft report. Documents released under a Freedom of Information request show that Systra was directed to “adjust section closure narrative to include a cycle path replacement” and “be explicit that there is no assessment of the net effect of leisure spend from loss of passenger spend vs increase in cyclist spend.” The IoM Government also said that it had “considerable concerns” over the conclusion in the draft report that “15% of all tourists would reduce their stay on the Island by one night, should the rail service be withdrawn”, as “from a statistical perspective, the survey could have major shortcomings in terms of positive bias in favour of the railways.” It also asked whether “any consideration [had been] given to the alternative use” of the steam railway route between Castletown and Port Erin, “for example, creating an active travel corridor, given the context of the pressures on public finances and the economy.”
However, in the recommendations report – published on January 9 – Systra said that there was no case for withdrawing services between Castletown and Port Erin, as “new disbenefits would be generated from the loss of the service while the cost savings were relatively small.” It also recommended against the closure of the Laxey-Ramsey section of the Manx Electric Railway and turning the route into an active travel corridor, saying “the demand for cycle trips is lower than that for train travel and therefore the impact on visitor spending would be negative. As this section is the most scenic part of the MER it would be expected that withdrawal of the route to Ramsey would result in a fall in visitor numbers to the island and reduction in visitor spend.” Although converting this section to single-track operation with passing loo
