Telford Steam Railway bosses cancel Polar Express - operators 'heartbroken'
Telford Steam Railway has cancelled this year's Polar Express event due to concerns over social distancing in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
Bosses at the heritage attraction said they were left heartbroken over the decision. And that at this stage it is uncertain whether it will return next year.
The current contract for the entertainment franchise based on the Hollywood animation blockbuster starring Tom Hanks was due come to an end in December.
Telford Steam Railway events director Jemma Gough said: "Due to the size of our site and our platforms we can not safely manage social distancing for the event.
"The way our carriages are laid out means that every other table would need to be empty, which impacts on ticket sales.
"We felt that as a charity we needed to put the health and safety of the public, staff and volunteers first.
"We felt that putting on a reduced show would not be acceptable and the magic would be lost, and we do not want to damage the reputation of our railway as well as the brand.
"It was a heartbreaking decision to make as preparations were being finalised for the event for this year. The uncertainty of the virus led to us having to make the decision.
"No tickets were put on sale for the event for 2020 as we were waiting for as long as possible to make a decision.
"We are looking into the possibility of signing another contract for The Polar Express as the current one would of ended this year.
"We are taking the rest of this year to restructure behind the scenes of the railway and We are working on plans for the future of the railway.
"We are hoping for our crowd funding page to go live within the next few weeks, we are just putting the final plans and focuses into place."
She said volunteers had returned to the heritage railway based, in Bridge Road, Horsehay site, where social distancing including hand washing and personal protective gear were in force.
"We have strict rules and procedures that the volunteers must follow to protect everyone’s safety.
"We ask that volunteers only turn up if requested or they have a certain job to do and refrain from working in groups unless completely necessary. Then we ask that social distancing is maintained as much as possible," she added.
Last year all 30,000 tickets for the popular event sold out within a month of going on sale.
Since it was launched in Telford in 2016 the trips have become one of the most popular Polar Express events with tourists from as far afield Guernsey and Australia getting on board.
