The full report completed for the Isle of Man government by SYSTRA on the heritage railways and tramways on the island has now been released. Coming around a week after the recommendations had been revealed, the full 95 page report goes into more detail about what the consultants found during their fact finding.
The overall summary of the review is that the railways and tramways have been well run, have received effective investment and make a significant contribution to the local economy. The lines remain under government control and one of the recommendations says this should continue but that a Board of Directors should be formed allowing them to operate as an arms’ length company.
Tim Crookall MHK, Infrastructure Minister, said: “I’m very grateful to SYSTRA for producing this report and providing the Department with an extremely valuable analysis of our heritage rail network. Our job now is to examine the recommendations, consider each in turn and establish next steps. How they may be progressed will depend on a range of different factors, and time will be required to establish the best way forward.”
A draft version of the report was first delivered to the government in October 2023 (having been commissioned in May 2023) and since that time the Department of Infrastructure has been working with the consultants to finalise the report and establish rigour around its findings.
The Department is now in the process of giving the report and its recommendations full consideration alongside colleagues from other departments within the government.
- The full report can be viewed at https://www.gov.im/media/1381802/isle-of-man-heritage-railway-review-final-report_compressed.pdf
Unfortunately the link to the report did not work. Will the “board of directors” consist of IOM government staff who are already paid for their duties or will it be composed of people who will need to be paid in addition to current expenditure, thereby taking money out of the income from the heritage railways? A dangerous policy in my view unless you are looking for an excuse to close them.
Those who really do want to read the full report will find it at http://www.closedlines.free-online.co.uk/IOM%20report