On The Right Track

There is no case for shortening the island’s steam railway, while replacing part of the northern section of the MER would like damage the tourism sector.

Part of SYSTRA’s long await review into the island’s railways has been published this morning.

In total the report has made 13 recommendation including improvements the gov should make to how it is run and marketed.

The review found that ‘there is no case for the withdrawal of services between Castletown and Port Erin; it has been shown that new disbenefits would be generated from the loss of the service while the cost savings were relatively small’.

It added: ‘Whilst on Laxey – Ramsey although it was shown that there would be a small benefit from withdrawing services this excluded the impact on visitor spending. Despite assuming active travel provision replacing the service would retain some of the visitors it is assumed 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.’

SYSTRA added that while withdrawing this section ‘would offer significant cost savings’, it would likely undermine the visitor economy.

Further considering the use of this section as a cycle track, SYSTRA found that it would likely only be of economic benefit if it ‘averaged more than 475 cycle trips per day’.

It added: ‘Given the seasonal nature of tourism on the Island we believe that this proposal is not viable unless significant cost savings can be made in construction compared to the indicative costs assumed here.’

Minister Tim Crookall said: ‘I’m aware the consultants’ findings have been eagerly awaited by the Manx public and rail enthusiasts alike and it’s appropriate that this information is made available.

‘The recommendations published today will provide the Department and wider community with a firm base from which to view the railways’ current position and then plan their future development. The document supplies a series of key insights that will inform discussions with colleagues across the Isle of Man Government once the full report has been received in the coming weeks.’

We are continuously updating this page, please check back.