A Birmingham steam train company is back on track after more than three months off the rails because of a safety wrangle .
Tyseley-based Vintage Trains , the firm behind the Shakespeare Express, can finally take bookings again after operator West Coast Railways was forced to halt services following a series of safety concerns.
Vintage was forced to cancel the popular Valentines Express, Red Dragon and Moonraker services – and has taken no bookings in 2016.
But it announced today the Office of Road and Rail (ORR) suspension has finally been dropped and it can take bookings again.
A Vintage Trains spokesperson said: “2016 did not begin well for Vintage Trains and the mainline steam movement as a whole. The suspension of West Coast Railways resulted in the cancellation of all our railtours planned for the beginning of the year.
“The excellent news is that West Coast Railways has satisfied the improvements set forth by the Office of Road and Rail and are again able to operate Vintage Trains’ railtour programme and the ever popular summer steam Shakespeare Express trains.”
Vintage Trains are now taking bookings for services later this year, including Whistling Ghost to Minehead in June and Welsh Marches to Hereford and Summer Holidays at the Palace, to Blenheim Palace, in August.
It said credit notes or gift vouchers that have expired since January of this year would be accepted.
The suspension came after the ORR announced last November it was investigating West Coast Railways “to protect the safety of its staff, volunteers, passengers and members of the public”.
That came after two incidents – one of them in October, when it emerged a locomotive had switched off its protection and warning system isolation equipment, designed to apply an emergency brake if the driver makes an error.
A separate investigation was already taking place after a West Coast Railways’ steam-hauled train failed to stop at a signal near Wootton Bassett in March.
