West Coast Railways will have to fit central door locking (CDL) to its carriages by February 29, or cease main line operations.
The ultimatum comes after WCR's Judicial Review in the High Coart failed to overturn the Office of Rail and Road's decision to refuse further exemptions to CDL. The company wanted to continue using secondary door bolts operated by stewards.
Challenging the ORR's decision to apply the Railway Safety Regulations 1999 to charter trains, WCR had argued that they were intended for commuter services, and that their extension to charters is a "misinterpretation".
But rejecting WCR's claim on December 22, Hon Mrs Jstice Thornton ruled that the ORR's "justifiable" approach is "common sense".
WCR Commercial Manager James Shuttleworth said the company will "reflect and consider options" to enable it to continue running, and that WCR is "committed to working with the ORR to find a long-term solution which safeguards the future of heritage services"
The regulator noted that other charter operators “have made the necessary investment to install central door locking it remains open to WCR to do the same”.
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Comments
Steven Foster - 09/01/2024 17:00
It must be considered correct for WCR to be able to operate in the same manner as all other with a main line operating licence.As to how they can fit enough coaches in time to perform their contractual obligations remains to be seen.Have they got sufficient capital is one thing and even if they have, it will be a challenge to get the necessary work done.Are we going to see many main line rail trips cancelled?
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Steven Foster - 09/01/2024 17:35
It is hard to see how WCR can afford to do the necessary work or have time to do the work , in order to honour their contacts, to operate or supply coaches in 2024.
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ChrisM - 11/01/2024 15:17
February 29, 2024 is impossible to achieve. February 2029 could be achievable. Compromise is needed so at least some trains can run this year and next.
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Jane smith - 14/01/2024 15:19
Well I feel that the ball is very much in wcr court now they fit CDL or they don't run plain and simple.
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Phil Gaskell - 14/01/2024 23:35
We new this would happen in the the long term; West coast railways have tried their best to help this by extra door locks and staff monitoring doors and even drop lights being secured,but in the age of health and safety it was bound to happen. Hopefully they can find a quick solution and keep us with main line steam trips.
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D Randall - 15/01/2024 19:57
Are network rail going to fit barriers to stop passengers getting close to the edge of the platform? Surely some customer responsibility must come into play. OK, bars on opening windows maybe Litigation eh?
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Steve Shields - 30/01/2024 17:21
Not before time to.
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Steve Shields - 31/01/2024 07:13
They had ample opportunity to fit C.D.L since 1999.
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Michael Upton - 02/02/2024 13:57
I can't help thinking that this is a mess of WCRC's own making. Other operators have fitted CDL so why not them. If they had put the time and money in to fitting CDL instead of trying to be clever and fight the operator, who gave them plenty of chances, then they would have had it done by now.
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