Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Hugely popular Harry Potter train cancelled for winter maintenance

Steam train crossing the Glenfinnan Viaduct in Scotland.
Steam train crossing the Glenfinnan Viaduct in Scotland.

The cancellation of the winter service of the hugely popular Harry Potter train for maintenance has been slammed.

Rail bosses are blaming the hot weather that saw a huge spike in demand for so-called “staycations” – but it now looks like it will deliver a major blow to winter tourism.

The Jacobite Steam Train service which runs from Fort William to Mallaig for fans of the Boy Wizard already had close to 1,000 reservations.

But due to wear and tear to the wheels during the unseasonable long and hot dry spell the train now needs more maintenance than normal.

West Coast Railways, which runs the train, confirmed they would not be able to conclude the servicing in time for the start of the winter.

The hugely successful trial period last December carried more than 3,600 people and now visitor numbers will be reduced at a time of year the hospitality industry can least afford.

Local Councillor Allan Henderson believes the impact will be wider than just Mallaig, with many if not most using the line staying in the wider Fort William and Lochaber area.


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


He said: “My initial reaction was that it is such a pity that it has happened after the first trial period last year that was a great success.

“But it is not just about Mallaig which relies on the pocket spend because most people just visit for the day because it is quite expensive.”

He added: “It could be that guest houses and hotels in Fort William will also be hurt by this – it has a knock-on effect for the whole area.”

The chairman of Friends of the West Highland Lines, Doug Carmichael, said: “The thrill for many of seeing and hearing a steam locomotive tackling the snow-covered gradients of Britain’s best-loved scenic train journey will be sorely missed this year.”

Mr Henderson said: “I understand the reason for it. People don’t think about trains having tyres that sometimes need to be changed – it is a safety factor.”

He defended the service saying “Harry Potter certainly weaved its spell and I would go so far as to say that the train was saviour of the West Highland Line.”

A West Coast Railways spokesman said: “The hot weather forced the decision. We usually turn tyres twice in a season. This year, it will be four, possibly five times, due to the heat and compression. A tyre turn requires every coach to return to Carnforth [in Lancashire], then be shipped back for operation.

“It’s likely the last change will be very close to the end of the season, not allowing us enough time to return for the winter programme. We apologise to passengers who have booked .They will receive a refund in full.”