February 16th 2018

Passenger Numbers for 2017 have been fully collated and are ready for circulation. Total Passengers – which includes, fare paying passengers (pre-book and on the day), Annual Pass Holders, Shareholders and Working Members were 240,686 in 2017 compared with 252,300 the previous year. We were expecting a lower passenger number in 2017 because we had the ‘one off’ special event Pacific Power in autumn 2016 which attracted 14,000 passengers. The 2017 Autumn Gala attracted 5,357 passengers in 2017 some 8,643 below Pacific Power. The weather also played a part with snowfall causing the cancellation of 4,000 passenger visits on Sunday 10th December. Our usual timetabled passenger numbers from October through the December Festive season were also affected by the weather and in total were 1,893 lower than budget. If these negative variances are added back in to the 2017 numbers we would have finished ahead of 2016. May I take this opportunity to wish you all the best for the new 2018 season.

Best wishes

Nick Ralls General Manager

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February 16th 2017

During the running season in 2016, Doug Kempton has carried out a number of passenger surveys. The passengers were requested to confirm what form of ticket they were using to ride on the train. This could have been one of a number of acceptable tickets e.g. Freedom of the Line, Single Ticket, Shareholder Pass, Annual Family Pass, Working Member Pass etc.

The results of the survey have been analysed, and it has been concluded that the Railway carries many passengers who are excluded from our collected passenger number data, which is based on tickets sold.

The passenger number has therefore been recalculated and in 2016 we carried an estimated 252,330 (245,800 - 2015) passengers.

This is directly comparable to the era when Shareholders were included in our data, as they were provided with travel vouchers, which required exchanging for tickets before they travelled.

Over a quarter of a million passengers carried in one trading year, a great testament to the volunteer work force who have made this happen.

Matthew Harris Accountant & Company Secretary