The Llangollen Railway has announced that it has revised its timetable for the Spring months as fuel prices soar and the coal supplies dwindle.
The railway currently has enough stock for around 30 days of steam operation and whilst there still is stock of Russian coal here in the UK, the railway says it would be unethical to purchase anymore of this due to the situation in Ukraine.
As well as coal supply though, the price of diesel is going up quickly and makes the fallback option of operating diesel locomotives and diesel railcars in place of steam also difficult.
As a result, the Llangollen Railway has revised its plans for the Spring months, which will see a reduction in trains being operated and how often steam locomotives are used.
The updated timetable is expected to be released soon, but the railway is recommending advanced booking as demand for steam-hauled trains will be high.
The Llangollen Railway is not the first line to make this decision, the East Lancashire Railway has already confirmed changes to steam plans – you can read more on that here.
Llangollen is currently looking into using a processed coal, called ovoids, which is British-made and are a viable option for steam.
The heritage line, which currently runs from Llangollen to Carrog, with a project ongoing to extend the line to Corwen, is also looking into the limited supply of coal from South Wales – which would be great to lower the railway's overall carbon impact.
Timetable info can be found on the Llangollen Railway website.
Time to dump the (associated) carbon obsession.
Even ALL forms of electricity (including nuclear-fuelled) have a carbon footprint – think carefully before denying it.. Railways, whether in public or leisure service, should never behave as if they are carbon-guilty. They are one of the most energy&carbon-thrifty transport systems that exist.
It is a fad that makes no sense. What railways could do is explore other ways of powering steam, wood pellets. perhaps?. In truth, heritage trains are not going to do anything like the environmental damage, all the electric cars and other vehicles will. As for Russian coal that is already here. we may as well buy it, after all, it is hardly going to be sent back to a country with such vile leadership.