Delay to the MER Laxey-Ramsey
Service?
During bad weather around two months ago a landslip
occurred in the vicinity of Ballaglass power station
affecting the Manx Electric track bed, and stopping tram use
over that area. With no passenger service this winter, there
was no immediate operating impact, although it should have
been obvious that an early assessment and repair of the area
was desirable to allow advertised summer services to
commence as planned on April 4 .
Yet with just over five weeks to go, the area is still
waiting to be assessed, before any repairs can start,
putting at risk much needed revenue streams not only for the
tramway but also business who rely on trade from the MER
both along the route and at the Island's Chief Minister's
constituency of Ramsey. Given the remaining short time
before the start of the summer season, it is entirely
possible that, yet again, tram services to Ramsey may be
cancelled remember the fiasco during 2008.
Railways throughout the UK have suffered from this winter's
storms, the severe slip on the main line at Dawlish making
national news, but also several smaller undertakings
including the Seaton Tramway have also suffered. In both the
Dawlish & Seaton cases, assessments were carried out
within a matter of days Seaton planning extra lengths
to open as near to their planned start date as possible over
a section of unaffected line, the slip having occurred just
days prior to the start of their season, no doubt aware of
the financial implications any delay would cause. Efforts
too are being made to get the damaged area repaired as
quickly as possible to restore a normal service.
It is not entirely clear why such a lengthy delay has
occurred at the Manx Electric Railway. Is governmental
emergency funding not designed for such a situation? The
urgency should now be to get the area repaired, the Manx
Electric fully reopened to the north and later sort out why
there has been a delay, or who is responsible.
In just over three months the Island will again stage the
world famous Tourist Trophy motorcycle festival, the busiest
time for the tramway, when it plays a vital role in moving
crowds to events held in the Island's north.
NEWS STORY FEBRUARY 24, 2014
Update
On March 18, 2014 Isle of Man Railways issued a press
release with an update of the current situation. Details of
this press release can be found at the Isle of Man Public
Transport website at the following link http://www.gov.im/publictransport/ViewNews.gov?page=lib/news/publictransport/weatherdamagetoi.xml&menuid=11570
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