Staff at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway have been praised for helping train operating company Northern during the COVID-19 crisis.
Some Northern trains have been stabled at the railway.
In a posting on Linkedin, Northern said: “At the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, and following a reduction in services, it quickly became apparent that our Depots and Outstations didn’t have the required capacity to store the number of units no longer required during lockdown.
“Working with Network Rail, our control team were able to identify some available space at Keighley and Worth Valley Railway (KWVR), which we started to utilise.
“This proved to be a fantastic solution operationally, as drivers were able to support the operation through ad-hoc movements. Following the start of the pandemic, KWVR have had to suspend services and postpone their summer season, expressing concerns that the volunteer-run heritage line could cease operations in 2021.
“As the COVID disruptions continued, our control team moved the 144 fleet to KWVR, this time utilising their platforms and agreeing a storage payment, which proved to be beneficial for both Northern and KWVR.
Noel Hartley, KWVR Operations Manager, explained: “We are storing the Pacers for Northern whilst the crisis is ongoing. It is helping us too by providing some income for our Worth Saving Appeal.”
Storing the units at Keighley is rather fitting as they regularly called at the station until the Airedale Line was electrified in the 1990s.
A spokesperson for Northern said: “We’re grateful to Keighley and Worth Valley Railway for allowing us to stable our trains during the ongoing pandemic. We’re also glad that, in doing so, we can provide KWVR with a much-needed revenue boost to help it through this difficult period.”
Photo credit: Peter is Shaw 1991 / Shutterstock.com
