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Mountain railway service suspended

Safety fears force immediate closure

The Snaefell Mountain Railway has been suspended with immediate effect, after experts concluded it's unsafe.

A statement from the Department of Infrastructure says the heritage system is no longer compatible with modern safety requirements needed to ensure the well-being of passengers and staff.

The closure, ordered by the DoI and the Health and Safety Inspectorate, was ordered after a 'comprehensive review'.

The department is now drafting in an Isle of Man Railways engineering team to deal with the problems - until now, in-house engineers have been deployed supporting day-to-day operations.

Doubts about the safety of the SMR hit the headlines in August when a tram laden with passengers hurtled downhill for a distance after a brake failure.

The service was briefly suspended before re opening.

Now, the authorities admit ensuring heritage rolling stock meets modern safety requirements is proving difficult.   

Manx Electric Railway and Isle of Man Railways services will continue as scheduled.

Investigations carried out following the incident that occurred on the Snaefell Mountain Railway (SMR) on 4 August 2017 have highlighted the challenges of operating heritage railway systems in a modern safety management environment.

The Department of Infrastructure has continued to work closely with the Health and Safety at Work Inspectorate (HSWI) to identify a number of improvements as part of a comprehensive review.

Whilst the work carried out to date has provided much reassurance, addressing all the issues associated with operating heritage rolling stock has proved difficult.

The Department has decided to commit the skills and expertise of its Isle of Man Railways engineering staff to dealing with these matters, rather than to supporting day-to-day operations.

As a result, all SMR passenger services have been suspended with effect from today, Monday 25 September 2017.

The decision has been taken by the Department in partnership with the HSWI and reflects the importance of passenger and staff safety.

The Department has confirmed that Manx Electric Railway and Isle of Man Railways services remain unaffected and will continue as timetabled.