Heritage rail
50 not out for Seaton Tramway Chief Executive Jenny Nunn on the challenges of the last 12 months and the delayed birthday celebrations
T
he last year will be one most people will want to forget, particularly those working on heritage railways. Timetables have been thrown into chaos, with services forced to stand still for several months because of the coronavirus pandemic. With incomes decimated without services, heritage railways have worked around the clock looking into support and new income streams, whilst keeping updated to make sure everything is in place ready for re-opening – not just for the sake of jobs, but to secure the future of the railways themselves. “For fear of using a cliché, it has hit everyone hard and we’re not alone there,” said Jenny Nunn, Chief Executive of Seaton Tramway, a three-mile route through East Devon’s Axe Valley. “In March, as we entered the previously unknown territory of lockdown, we were watching every news bulletin and daily briefing from the Government to try to glean a bit of light at the end of the tunnel as to when we could reopen and salvage some of the season. “We were working through copious amounts of information, looking at all the various legislation 64 | January 2021
and guidance that was coming out for the hospitality industry and passenger transport and piecing it all together, so when tourism and leisure businesses could re-open on 4 July, we were ready. “We’d lost some of the key trading months so it was a really difficult time, but everyone was in the same boat. Our priority all along was to reopen as soon as permitted, not just from a cash flow and income generation point of view, but it was also important to get the staff and volunteers back. Initially it was a tough time getting everything together, with the extra risk assessments, staff training and additional COVID-19 measures; but with all that in place, it meant we were, to an extent, ready when it came to the second lockdown, although unfortunately we had to cancel our popular The Polar Express™ Tram Ride.” 90,000 passengers It was certainly not what Jenny and the team had planned. 2020 was the year Seaton Tramway was due to celebrate its 50th anniversary of operation in Seaton, following the acquisition railbusinessdaily.com
