2023 proved to be an amazing year for the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. Having started the year being judged to be the UK’s ‘Heritage Railway of the Year’, 2023 developed into a highly successful year for the railway.
Established in 1971 after the closure of the line to Newport in 1965, the railway is run by a small team of staff and around 500 volunteers. The Railway offers a unique experience of bygone rail travel on the Island from its base in Havenstreet.
A challenging year for the tourism sector
Against a backdrop of a challenging year for the Island’s tourism sector, the IW Steam Railway welcomed a record breaking 130,000 visitors across the year, continuing its year-on-year growth.
The Railway had a particularly strong increase in numbers across the Summer school holiday period and its popular events calendar saw growth at key events including the Summer Steam Show and the Festival of Transport.
Having welcomed 7600 visitors to its Christmas events the Railway is now into its closed period when planned work on track maintenance and renewals takes place.
Taylor: Has only been possible through the remarkable work of our now 500 volunteers
Peter Taylor, Chairman, said,
“In a difficult marketplace which has seen one major Island attraction close, our Railway has continued to appeal through its unique high-quality heritage offer, great customer experiences and value for money. In 2023 we were rightly crowned as Heritage Railway of the Year – and equally importantly retained our Tripadvisor ‘Travellers Choice’ rating as determined solely by our visitors.
“Everything we have achieved in 2023, and indeed the last 52 years, has only been possible through the remarkable work of our now 500 volunteers who work tirelessly to sustain and build upon our award-winning railway.
“As an educational charity our work includes a huge rage of activities, not just the running of the trains for visitors and enthusiasts alike. Every pound we raise through visitors visiting the railway is invested back into the railway, enhancing the heritage and the experience for current and future generations.”
After the successes of 2023 though, the Railway is not resting on its laurels.
Morgan Huws: Exciting new events for 2024
Marc Morgan Huws, Interim General Manager, says,
“While 2023 proved to be an amazing year we are acutely aware that 2024 will be another challenging year in terms of the visitor economy and rising customer expectations.
“We already have plans in place to add exciting new events to the existing calendar for 2024 – Fish & Chip Evenings in the Summer and a Gin and Steam event in June – and to take our Santa Special offer for Christmas 2024 to a new level, delivering some magic of Christmas’ past with new activities and additional dressing of our stations.
“Work has already started on an £80k project to create a high-quality permanent café and bar in our Events field ahead of Easter 2024 as we continue to invest in the customer experience. At Wootton we hope to complete the initial build of our Goods Shed display facility. Meanwhile ‘on the tracks’ 2024 is set to see the completion of the two car Ryde Pier Tram and the return to service of our Terrier locomotive Freshwater after an extensive overhaul.”
“Meanwhile our volunteers and small team of staff are busy around our station sites making a special effort to improve the look and feel of our stations ahead of the new season”.
News shared by Marc on behalf of IW Steam Railway. Ed
