BLUEBELL RAILWAY TO REOPEN IN AUGUST - 60TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

So with news that the Bluebell Railway plan to re-open on 7th August 2020 does this signal (pun intended) a return to public visits on Heritage Railways around the Uk. Now this is excellent news and very welcome for the Bluebell Railway in particular as it will allow them to have their celebrations for their 60th Anniversary on that date.

So, how has the Bluebell Railway been preparing to reopen? The generosity of our members, shareholders and others has meant our appeal target of £300,000 has been met and exceeded and now stands at more than £330,000. This is a fantastic achievement and thank you to all those who have contributed. This success, plus a review of other funding sources, has allowed the Board to produce a very detailed financial model for the remainder of 2020. This model includes all the reopening costs, predictions on revenue for the remainder of this year and a detailed review of all costs. Using this model alongside several other measures the Board have taken, I can now proudly announce a provisional reopening date of Friday 7 August 2020.

As you know this also happens to be our 60th anniversary and what better way to celebrate that milestone than to reopen for business. I’m also pleased to announce that the first train on 7 August will be for members only and pre-booked on a first-come, first-served basis.

This phased reopening will start on 7 August and for the foreseeable future trains will run at weekends only. This will allow the railway and volunteers to gauge the potential demand, take small steps and follow the Government guidance. Having carefully reviewed what we can offer and taking into account the layout of our station sites, our service trains will run from Sheffield Park to Kingscote only (NB they not be stopping at Horsted Keynes). East Grinstead Station will remain closed due to the restricted nature of the station site and to adhere to social distancing rules.

In addition to this we plan to run three or four dining trains per day, with our daytime services starting at Horsted Keynes and our evening services starting at Sheffield Park. This avoids any potential conflict between our public trains and our dining customers at Sheffield Park. As we take these small steps, all of the above will remain under constant review and should public demand be there, we will add further trains mid-week starting on a Friday and working backwards.

To provide the public with the very best offering while also complying with the latest Government guidance, our service trains will be formed of compartment stock. Compartments will be sold as a whole and all tickets will be pre-bookable – our intention is to have these available for purchase about two weeks before the reopening. There will be no ‘turn-up-on-the-day’ ticket sales available on any services for the rest of the year.  In line with other transport bodies and following best practice, face coverings will be required to travel on our services. This includes travelling on dining services although coverings can then be temporarily removed while eating. All our carriages and station environments will receive an enhanced cleaning regime including door handles. The Railway’s priority will be on providing everyone with a safe and enjoyable day out.