10 Takeaways from SYTRA Report

With the report into the island’s railways having been out in the open for a few days now, we thought it was a good time to sift through the weeds and pinpoint 10 interesting points.

SYTRA was appointed by the gov to review the railways and offer suggestions as to their future use.

1 Money, money money

No matter what changes, the railway will always require gov subvention.

The railways are considered to be well run, costs are well controlled and except for the Covid period, the subvention has remained steady. The review found that there are few ways to cut funding without impacting the service they deliver.

Tickets are comparably priced compared to their UK counterparts, but there needs to be a review of the price of the Go Explore tickets as the average yield is typically less than half the usual full ticket price.

Finally, the review found that spending by visitors in the economy and spending by the railway itself generates £4.64 for the island for every £1.00 of subvention, falling to £2.88 when capital spending is included.

2 Volunteers

One of the ideas of those who don’t wear anoraks or find steam trains fun is to turn the entire system over to volunteers.

SYTRA found that the number of volunteers available would ‘fall far short of that required to operate the service’.

It estimated that the island’s population could generate between 25 and 70 volunteers to support railways. However, not all of them could engage in safety critical roles and a number of them are, in practice, already committed to working on the Groudle Glen and Laxey Mine railways.

3 Management

Currently, the railways fall under the DoI, with the department overseeing track and overhead wire replacement. However, the report found it is not best placed to develop a visitor attraction.

SYSTRA has recommended that the railways should remain in public ownership, but with a board of directors appointed to oversee its operation, providing the basis for (all together now) an arms-length company. 

It added that the DfE should have more influence in the specification of the railway’s activities to ensure synergies with Visit Isle of Man and MNH.

4 Services

In 2023 the railways reduced the number of services in early spring in favour of more later in the year when the island is visited by more coach parties. There was also an introduction of November services as part of the shoulder season offering. 

The report found that no negative impact on total demand of this reduction in spring services had been identified, although any possible loss in demand will have been masked by the much larger impact of returning post-pandemic travel and that while August was the busiest month, the railways were carrying largely consistent number throughout the rest of the season. 

However, while services could be reduced further, SYSTRA found this would likely damage the overall product and their return to the wider economy without making large savings to justify such a reduction.

5 Commuting 

The review looked at the potential of the railways as a commuter service and found that it is plausible, but would require cash upfront to make it work.

An example case of an introduction of a commuter service on the MER was considered, with an appraisal of the net monetized benefits over 30 years using a new light electric or electric/battery train would provide a faster and more comfortable service than the heritage rolling stock.

The most significant fixed costs of introducing a new commuter service are the costs of a new vehicle and the new link at Derby Castle. For a high-level optioneering stage appraisal a cost of £3m in 2023 prices is assumed for a two-carriage battery train, and £1.5m assumed for new link work at Derby Castle.

At 88 passengers per service, the additional commuter services is forecast to provide a positive net monetised benefit. Although this exceeds the heritage rolling stock capacity and would represent approximately 3% of the working-age population of Ramsey and Laxey on each service. Given the journey time is unlikely to be faster than the existing half-hourly bus service, this may prove a challenging passenger target.

6 Shortening Steam

The review did look at shortening the railways but found that even when cost savings were made, they would likely do such repetitional damage and likely lead to such a drop in ticket sales, it would be uneconomical to make them. 

7 North of Laxey

As with the steam railway, SYSTRA considered the impact of reducing the service from Laxey to Ramsey on the MER. However, a full survey would be needed to consider the cost and potential for a cycle path as suggested by the gov. 

However, SYSTRA found that to be as beneficial to the economy, it would take an average of 450-500 daily cycle path users.

8 Capacity Issues

At the back end of last season, the MER suffered from staff on zero-hour contracts taking holidays, leading to a reduction in services. Equally, it struggles with coach bookings taking up whole services, leading to walk-up passengers being turned away. 

However, this isn’t an easy area to improve, you can’t just stick another train or tram on. Instead, the review suggested improving waiting areas for passengers, particularly at Douglas and Ramsey which while requiring initial investment would provide an income and boost passenger experience. 

9 Marketing

Simply put, while there is a strong marketing team that has had success with coach and cruise trips, the railways don’t market themselves very well. Its website is poor, Google search will send visitors down rabbit holes and the bus website isn’t a massive help either. 

Therefore, the review recommended a more joined-up plan that promotes the railways and provides a better interface with visitors. 

10 Passionate Support

Let’s end on a high, there is passionate support for the railways on the island, mostly among support groups and workers, but also the general public. 

However, there needs to be a long-term plan for how they are going to function up to 2040 to ensure they are run in a stable and financially prudent way while delivering the best service to islanders and visitors.