SHAREHOLDERS attending the North Norfolk Railway plc’s AGM on July 16 heard that the heritage line had returned to profit in the year ending January 31, 2022, achieving a surplus of £195,062 for the full year – awelcome turnaround after the pandemic-induced loss of £148,120 the previous year.
Steve Allen, chairman, told the meeting that 2021 had been a challenging year with lockdowns forcing the line to close until mid-April, meaning that key trading periods such as February half-term and the Easter holidays were lost.
Managing director Hugh Harkett said that after a difficult start 2021 had been outstanding.
The Culture Recovery Fund grant from the Government kept the business afloat during lockdown and then the strategy of survive-recover-sustain had been implemented with the first two parts being achieved during the year. Since the year end, good progress has been made on sustaining the railway with healthy passenger numbers for the first part of the 2022 season.