AS this issue went to press, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and West Coast Railway Company (WCR) were engaged in a stand-off over the matter of fitting central door locking to heritage carriages – most notably the Mk.1s used on the ‘Jacobite’ steam service between Fort William and Mallaig. Both sides seem to have dug in, and it is not clear who might blink first.
This hugely popular train has its origins back in 1984, when it was launched by British Rail as the ‘West Highlander’ to help tourism in the area. The licence passed to WCR at Privatisation in the 1990s, and there was a boost in the 2000s when the locos and stock were featured in the Harry Potter series of films – sparking global interest in the daily service. The trips have been so successful that now two trains a day operate in the peak season from June to August – a major source of income for WCR, while fulfilling the original BR goal of supporting local tourism.
However, following a series of incidents involving Mk.1s over the years, the ORR has said all remaining vehicles must have central door locking to operate on the main line. It has, in fact, been saying this to owners of similar rolling stock for almost 20 years, ever since the relevant ‘Regulation 5’ came into force in January 2005. Since then, operators have been given exemptions to continue using them on the understanding CDL would be fitted at some point.