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West Somerset Railway launches a new appeal for £1m to help cover projected income shortage through the 2021 season.

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alexl92

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The West Somerset Railway has launched yet another appeal for funds as they anticipate that their income in the 2021 season will not even come close to covering their costs.

After two formal appeals were turned down after the rejection of its second-round bid as part of the Culture Recovery Fund, the West Somerset Railway has launched an Emergency SOS Funding Appeal for £1 million to see it through till May 2022.

The railway was hoping to receive a Culture Recovery Fund grant of up to £432,000 from the scheme, which was the maximum permitted under the guidelines of round 2 bidding. This would have helped provide further funds for the 22-mile line, which opened on 22nd May following ongoing closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The first grant bid was accepted, and £864,900 was granted last October, and the final instalment of the grant, worth £86,490 was paid just before Easter 2021. This money is needed now as the projected income for the West Somerset Railway this year is insufficient to meet the needs in the budget for the railway.

A WSR spokesman said: “The rejection of the WSR’s second application bid to the CRFH was very significant for the railway as the money would have enabled the WSR Plc, along with the support of WSR ‘family’ support organisations, to prepare for and fund the reopening of the railway and the operations for 2022 and beyond.”

The WSR PLC has now contacted all external stakeholders who supported the CRFH bid, including local MPs Iain Liddell-Grainger and Rebecca Pow and local partners in the tourism sector to inform them of the rejection and two failed appeals.


Following this setback, plus shortfalls in income due to a reduced amount of trains and capacity due to social distancing, the WSR PLC Board has made three urgent decisions:


  • Launch another emergency appeal to supporters for up to £1 million to see them through to next year and a hoped COVID free future.
  • The WSR PLC Board is researching into the feasibility of issuing another Share Issue Appeal to raise funds from the 8,000 plus shareholders or new subscribers.
  • The PLC will seek support from the West Somerset Railway Association (WSRA) and the West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust (WSRHT) towards this appeal

The PLC has also decided that it has no choice but to defer and pause any development work or incurring any costs on changing its structure.

For more information on how to donate towards this emergency appeal, please visit the West Somerset Railway website


Commenting on the DCMS announcement and the two appeal rejections, WSR Plc Chairman Jonathan Jones-Pratt said: “Naturally, we are bitterly disappointed not to have gained this valuable and much needed second round grant support from the Department of Culture Media and Sport, despite lodging two very strong appeals against their earlier rejection decision.

“This additional CRFH money would have provided a vital, further financial lifeline needed for the railway’s survival, and we are confident that all of the projects we put forward for support were needed to help get the much-loved West Somerset Railway back up and running normally again.

“So, given this bad news, we simply had to launch another ‘SOS’ emergency survival fund appeal for up to £1 million.

“We are still receiving donations money every week because people believe so strongly in our railway. Long may that continue to be the case, and let’s try to raise the £1 million as soon as possible, maybe more! “It’s worth noting that we have now raised or received a total in financial help of an amazing £1.4 million from all sources to date since last March, so this appeal target is achievable!


“This total so far has been achieved via our own WSR ‘family’ emergency appeals which comes to a combined total of @ £559,000; plus the earlier DCMS CHRF grant of £864,900, and also includes the latest DCMS CRFH grant of £13,100 to the WSRHT.
Source: https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2021/0...ailway-launch-emergency-1-million-appeal.html

The latest edition of Steam Railway magazine also carries an article explaining that the WSR have rejected the Bailey Report's recommendations make changes to the ownership and operating structure, including the creation of a charitable trust.
 
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STEVIEBOY1

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Did they run any trains last summer between lockdowns and are they opening this summer?
 
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Did they run any trains last summer between lockdowns and are they opening this summer?
They are running trains this year but not all the way to Minehea because they are taking ages to sort out the level crossing at Minehead.

No trains ran at all in 2020.

Appears to be a long standing dispute between the charities and plc. I don't think the charities appreciate that network rail could do a Devon Okehampton and if the plc were to go bust, take on the railway itself. I think the actual railway trackbed is still owned by the county council which was looking to sell it off a few years ago.

No winners if the plc was to go bust.
 

alexl92

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If the PLC goes bust, what would then be at risk?
Erm, I would guess that its future as a heritage line would be the biggest thing. Does anyone know how much of their rolling stock is owned by who or what?
 

paul1609

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Sadly I dont think the West Somerset will be the last railway looking for further grants or appeals. Most railways I talk to have seen 2021 income massively down on pre covid.
 

Titfield

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Sadly I dont think the West Somerset will be the last railway looking for further grants or appeals. Most railways I talk to have seen 2021 income massively down on pre covid.

Well yes but we are not even a third of the way through June. The bulk of many heritage railways income comes from the 6 - 7 weeks of the school summer holidays. If there was a bumper summer - and this is possible based on what holiday accommodation providers are saying about their forward bookings - then the overall revenue picture could be ok.

Furthermore how have costs fared so far this year? If fewer train miles are run then presumably less fuel / water / lubricants will have been consumed. If some staff are still on paid furlough then those costs would be met to some extent.

I think the real issue is that some heritage railways have been in financial difficulty for some time (quite simply costs greater than revenue) and COVID 19 has simply pushed them to the edge.
 

Brissle Girl

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The latest edition of Steam Railway magazine also carries an article explaining that the WSR have rejected the Bailey Report's recommendations make changes to the ownership and operating structure, including the creation of a charitable trust.
One of the reasons given for the rejection is that "The Board readily recognises that one motivation for the Bailey proposals was the belief that this would offer us a better opportunity for external fund-raising. The Board have considered and researched the experiences of other heritage railways, and other similar organisations, and has concluded that the present structures in place do not preclude effective fund-raising."

Shortly afterwards the railway's bid for emergency funds from the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage is rejected because "At a recent (virtual) meeting of the Railway's Partnership Development Group, Plc Director Steve Williams said that the bid had been rejected as the Railway was now considered a commercial organisation and not a 'not for profit' organisation."


Hmmm...
 

alexl92

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Well yes but we are not even a third of the way through June. The bulk of many heritage railways income comes from the 6 - 7 weeks of the school summer holidays. If there was a bumper summer - and this is possible based on what holiday accommodation providers are saying about their forward bookings - then the overall revenue picture could be ok.

Furthermore how have costs fared so far this year? If fewer train miles are run then presumably less fuel / water / lubricants will have been consumed. If some staff are still on paid furlough then those costs would be met to some extent.

I think the real issue is that some heritage railways have been in financial difficulty for some time (quite simply costs greater than revenue) and COVID 19 has simply pushed them to the edge.
I think basically they've worked out that even if they have a really bumper summer, with the season being shorter and restrictions on loadings due to Covid, they've no chance of getting close to breaking even this season. I think though your last line really gets to the crux of it.

One of the reasons given for the rejection is that "The Board readily recognises that one motivation for the Bailey proposals was the belief that this would offer us a better opportunity for external fund-raising. The Board have considered and researched the experiences of other heritage railways, and other similar organisations, and has concluded that the present structures in place do not preclude effective fund-raising."

Shortly afterwards the railway's bid for emergency funds from the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage is rejected because "At a recent (virtual) meeting of the Railway's Partnership Development Group, Plc Director Steve Williams said that the bid had been rejected as the Railway was now considered a commercial organisation and not a 'not for profit' organisation."


Hmmm...
Hmmmm indeed. That does not make for encouraging reading.
 

HY_4273

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Forum members might be interested in reading the entire WSR plc statement for themselves:

PROPOSED NEW CHARITY LED ORGANISATION

STATEMENT BY THE PLC BOARD

As planned, the WSR plc Board has been giving further detailed consideration to draft proposals to establish a new charity-led organisation to run the WSR in future. These proposals were developed following the initial report by John Bailey in May 2020.

An earlier informal seminar was followed up on Tuesday 30th March by a further full plc Board discussion ratifying the earlier decisions. The Board were supported in these discussions by the WSR plc President, David Morgan.

Besides being a former Chairman of the West Somerset Railway plc, David has very considerable experience advising heritage railways on their structures as part of his work as a former Chairman of the Heritage Railway Association (HRA). A lawyer by profession, David has also worked professionally on company structures over the years.

Whilst acknowledging the considerable work that has so far been put into this proposal, the plc Board have concluded that it is not appropriate to continue with this far-reaching proposal at the present time. This is for a number of reasons:

• The entire railway community is currently heavily committed to re-starting our operations in May. This involves extensive work by many individuals across the railway: this is not going to be a normal start-up operation and requires considerable extra work beyond that normally undertaken for the seasonal reopenings of the past. It is the view of the Board that attempting to take forward work now to establish a brand-new organisation is not something that would be sensible at this time, especially in light of the challenges facing both the WSR plc and the wider WSR railway family over the next 12 months.

• Although much sound progress has been made with our earlier financial recovery plans from 2017-2019, the railway has not yet fully recovered from the financial operational challenges of these years before the Covid pandemic. This is going to require significant further re-targeting of our activities. Attempting to re-position the WSR plc now as a subsidiary organisation of a brand-new charity, complete with all the attendant financial risk around assets, accountability and financial responsibilities, is NOT something that the WSR plc Board feels it can support.

• The plc Board is also not convinced that the proposals being put forward to implement the suggested Bailey reforms will necessarily deliver the anticipated full range of benefits required to justify the scale and scope of organisational change at this time. It feels that the current restructuring proposals are just one of a series of possible options to be considered, and which need to be much more carefully explored.

In the outline questionnaire that was circulated to all 8,311 WSR plc shareholders seeking their views on the Bailey reforms. Only 391 shareholders responded representing just 8,311 (4.7%). It is evident from such a level of response, therefore, that there is scant shareholder support for these suggestions. The board felt that it was important to have the views of shareholders on this matter, and in the interests of the PLC and its shareholders, it considered that the response rate was too low to justify taking further action on the proposals at the present time.

• The indicative costs of implementation of the current Bailey reform proposals are felt to be considerable and likely to run to at least six figures. In the current financial climate, the Board does not feel that this would be a sensible use of the plc’s limited resources. If loan-funding for this cost were to be sought externally, the Board feels that there would need to be a far more persuasive case.

• One of the key requirements facing us will be the need to convince the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) as regulator, and other key stakeholders, that these proposals will not only fully deliver significant additional benefits over a long period of time, but also that they will not impede the corporate responsibilities of the PLC for the safe and effective operation of the WSR and the stewardship of its assets. The Board considers that such a case has not been made convincingly.

• The Board readily recognises that one motivation for the Bailey proposals was the belief that this would offer us a better opportunity for external fund-raising. The Board have considered and researched the experiences of other heritage railways, and other similar organisations, and has concluded that the present structures in place do not preclude effective fund-raising. There will need to be renewed fund raising efforts in the next few months, of course, and the Board looks forward to working with all of its partners to achieve significant results.

David Morgan (PLC President) comments: “The WSR plc Board considered these matters very carefully when we met and, given the present circumstances, I consider that this was the right decision to make.

“It is crucial for the successful development of the railway that the Board, together with all the WSR partners, now devote their full energy to ensuring the successful commercial re-development of the railway itself post Covid lockdown.

“At this point, a reorganisation would only serve to divert energy away from our main purpose of getting the railway running again, and, if there is to be a reorganisation, a great deal more work – and expenditure - would be necessary to establish the benefits of any proposed change.”

WSR plc Chairman Jonathan Jones-Pratt comments:

“The plc Board have spent some time considering the Bailey proposals and we are very grateful to all those who have brought them forward. We are also very grateful for the sage counsel from our very experienced President, David Morgan.

“The plc Board took into account the low level of response from shareholders, and so we agreed unanimously that this was not the time to take the investigations further. “We realise and recognise that some of those who have worked on this initial feasibility investigation will be disappointed by our decision, but we believe that this is the time that all the members of the railway family really need to work together and focus on getting our wonderful railway back in action first and foremost.

“It is going to be challenging for us to succeed in a difficult marketplace over the next year or so, and this is where the Board, staff and volunteers need to put their effort.

“This is exactly what I and the plc Board will be doing and – subject, as ever, to government guidelines – we look forward to seeing our trains running again soon.

“There will be a difficult journey ahead for us, but I am certain that when we pull together, we will succeed. We have come through challenging times in the past and we can again! I look forward to seeing you on the railway in the next few months.”

Minehead
26th April 2021
 

alexl92

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Thanks @HY_4273.

In addition, RailAdvent has just published the following - another blow and more bad press (see the MP's comments at the end...
https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2021/0...ard-way-railway-level-crossing-statement.html

The West Somerset Railway has announced that the Seaward Way Level Crossing in Minehead is not likely to reopen to passenger trains before October 2021.


The level crossing is being completely rebuilt because traffic across the level crossing has increased over the last 20 years and the equipment is now worn out after years of exposure to sea air. The Coronavirus Pandemic is the main result of the delays to the crossing work.


The current two barrier crossing will be replaced by four barriers to extend over the entire road and will be controlled from the signal box. This therefore requires CCTV so that the signalman can see up and down Seaward Way before closing the barriers.

New traffic lights with low-level lights for pedestrians will be fitted and the railway signalling is having to be completely rebuilt.


Planning for the work started in 2018 and is funded by the Somerset County Council, with £1.2m being allocated by the council.


The WSR plc Director with overall responsibility for the crossing project, Frank Courtney, said: “It has been a significant disappointment to all the team, from both the WSR and Somerset County Council, that it has not been possible to compete the work in time for the 2021 season, but a range of factors (mainly the pandemic) have been against us.


“The old crossing had to be taken out of use in 2020, and once it had been, we just had to press on until the new one is finished. When it is, then it will be good for many years to come, and will not only enable the railway to operate more effectively, but will also significantly reduce delays to road traffic and pedestrians.”


WSR plc Chairman, Jonathan Jones Pratt said: “We know how important the railway is to our fellow businesses in Minehead, and we are all working very hard with Somerset County Council to get this job finished.


“Subject to government guidelines, this summer we are arranging for passengers to complete their journey by special bus connection from Dunster and whilst this is not the same as the long train ride, we hope to have some vintage buses to make this a special experience.


“With continuing effort from all the team, our many contractors and our partners at Somerset County Council, we will have passenger trains running into Minehead again by Christmas, and hopefully well before then.”


The West Somerset Railway has released the press statement after Ian Liddell-Grainger MP released this statement:


“The lack of trains is going to wipe hundreds of thousands off local balance sheets this summer at a time when so many businesses have been left financially vulnerable by the pandemic,” he said.


“But what concerns me most is the information vacuum surrounding this whole issue. It has been known for a long time that the level crossing is no longer fit for purpose because of increased road traffic. But what I and the local business community wish to be told is why the delays have crept in. It is my understanding that the work was ready to start two years ago but then the company insisted on ‘heritage’ rather than electric signalling being installed. That would have added £80,000 to the total cost – an expense which the county council resisted.


“If that is the case then it is utterly farcical. The vast majority of people who use the trains don’t care in the least about the type of signals installed: they simply want to ride on the railway – and in most cases get to Minehead.


“If this was not the case then I shall look forward to a full and clear explanation from both sides as to what has caused this entirely unacceptable delay together with a clear indication from both as to when the work will be done and services restarted.”
 

pdeaves

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Hmm, that says "The Coronavirus Pandemic is the main result of the delays to the crossing work." Surely we can't blame covid on the WSR, can we? 8-) (or have they got the cause and effect the wrong way round...?)
 

alexl92

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Hmm, that says "The Coronavirus Pandemic is the main result of the delays to the crossing work." Surely we can't blame covid on the WSR, can we? 8-) (or have they got the cause and effect the wrong way round...?)
I noticed that! Nearly corrected it when I quoted it but decided to leave it as published!
 

alf

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If their hearts are truly in running to the Minhead goldmine isn’t there an old fashioned solution?

A flag man & a colleague, & four temporary sets of galvanised gates as used by farmers all over the UK, plus four red circles knocked up by the local primary school.

Once the gates are shut & the signaller can see the traffic halted & it is confirmed by the gateman, then the inbound train can come in at walking pace. Better than not coming in at all..

The crossing is not on a high speed road, miles from nowhere. And it only operates in daylight.
It should not be hard to hold up a red flag while a colleague shuts the gates.
That’s how it was done for a century, & still is in an emergency.

Better than sitting on your hands & watching the railway go down the Swanee river.

Brunel & two great BR chairmen Peter Parker & Bob Reid Mark 1 would have relished sorting it out in five minutes.
 

Dai Corner

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If their hearts are truly in running to the Minhead goldmine isn’t there an old fashioned solution?

A flag man & a colleague, & four temporary sets of galvanised gates as used by farmers all over the UK, plus four red circles knocked up by the local primary school.

Once the gates are shut & the signaller can see the traffic halted & it is confirmed by the gateman, then the inbound train can come in at walking pace. Better than not coming in at all..

The crossing is not on a high speed road, miles from nowhere. And it only operates in daylight.
It should not be hard to hold up a red flag while a colleague shuts the gates.
That’s how it was done for a century, & still is in an emergency.

Better than sitting on your hands & watching the railway go down the Swanee river.

Brunel & two great BR chairmen Peter Parker & Bob Reid Mark 1 would have relished sorting it out in five minutes.

One would imagine that would be no more expensive than hiring in buses and drivers.

I'm sure it's complete coincidence that the Chairman owns a bus company but not a gate and flag hire company.
 

kje7812

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If their hearts are truly in running to the Minhead goldmine isn’t there an old fashioned solution?

A flag man & a colleague, & four temporary sets of galvanised gates as used by farmers all over the UK, plus four red circles knocked up by the local primary school.

Once the gates are shut & the signaller can see the traffic halted & it is confirmed by the gateman, then the inbound train can come in at walking pace. Better than not coming in at all..

The crossing is not on a high speed road, miles from nowhere. And it only operates in daylight.
It should not be hard to hold up a red flag while a colleague shuts the gates.
That’s how it was done for a century, & still is in an emergency.

Better than sitting on your hands & watching the railway go down the Swanee river.

Brunel & two great BR chairmen Peter Parker & Bob Reid Mark 1 would have relished sorting it out in five minutes.
I read (on Nat Pres) that the ORR declined to permit such working.
 
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