As Heritage Railways begin to start their peak operating seasons across the UK during the 200th Anniversary year, the Wensleydale Railway in North Yorkshire has announced that their train fares will remain unchanged from the 2024 season.

The decision to keep the fares at the same price despite facing ever-rising operational costs is a fine balance.

It is hoped more people will attend the railway by keeping the prices the same as people continue to cope with the cost of living crisis, whereas a price rise might have driven potential customers away.

The railway has also announced it will be running more dining and afternoon tea train services this year.

Plus, with the Stockton & Darlington bi-centenary celebrations happening not too far away from the railway, which is hoping to draw people from across the country, the price freeze might be an incentive for people to call into the Wensleydale Railway on the way to, or on the way back from those celebrations.

“We will be expanding the number of special food & drink events trains that we offer this year, including extra ‘Wensleydale Fryer’ fish and chips trains and Afternoon Tea services plus a few surprise new events. The Model Railway Weekend and Industrial Diesel Weekend events will both be back along with some additional events that are currently in the planning stage. Watch this space!”

We remain conscious of the financial pressures that our visitors face. We’re therefore pleased to be able to offer our ‘kids-for-a-quid’ travel offer again this year. This allows children aged 3-15 to travel for only £1.00 on all our normal scheduled train services (excluding special events). We also offer a 25% travel discount to local residents and a 50% discount to members of our charitable Trust. We hope that these offers help our customers and continue to make a visit to our railway a great value day out for them.”

Nick Keegan, Marketing and Fundraising Manager at Wensleydale Railway