Jacobite 2026

Real shame a negative head has reared within minutes of the post

 

I hope my prediction is wrong.

 

It is, but one has to ask why.

Meanwhile, the statement is interesting and I hope generally positive - my reading was definitely in the "glass half full" camp. However, I agree with @Chris86 that what it leaves unsaid is significant. As events in the Middle East over the past 48 hours have shown, agreements that aren't clearly written down leave a dangerous amount of room for misinterpretation and recriminations.

 

But what is unsaid is only significant to dullards like us on here who I suggest are not the target audience of said statement, your average wannabe wizard isn't gonna give a gnats derriere about the intricacies of rail standards or the inner workings of Mk1 vs Mk2 and CDL.

 

I agree because it all sounds positive and we must remember there are a lot of businesses that rely on an extra 700 people visiting Mallaig every day. I know the lady who opened a shop there selling Harry Potter merchandise, she also runs the gift shop on Fort William Station, the takings at Mallaig were over 40% down during the last time it didn’t run for weeks.

 

I will be on holiday in the West Highlands in late June. If I knew that the Jacobite would be running, I might consider trying to pitch it to the family (female half only, so an uphill task!), but this notice, TripAdvisor feedback from the last couple of years, combined with the 50 miles drive to Fort William means that I need to save my breath for things that I stand a chance of winning the debate over.

In contrast, I've just spent the thick end of £400 on a boat trip to Iona and Staffa. If I'd seen an equivalent announcement from the boat operator, I doubt I'd even have done a "save the date". And I know absolutely nothing about boat operations

 

After months of people saying stuff like “WCR should fit CDL like everyone else”; WCR have today made a public announcement that they have agreed with ORR that they will indeed fit CDL to their non-CDL coaches.

Surely the people saying “just fit CDL” should be satisfied?

 

Except that the discussion wasn't just "whether" but also "under what terms". Part A has been answered, but part B remains unclear - and based on everything that ORR have said before, is critically important detail.

 

This seems like a fairly bland restatement of what was already in the public domain through various press pronouncements. That being, WC has conceded fitting CDL is the only route to getting their mk1s back in use and have applied to ORR for an R5 exemption of a publicly unspecified length.
The most recent comment by ORR was that the regulator had received an exemption application but it had been sent back with a request for further detail, which was awaited. That was in Green Signals podcast, maybe 6 weeks ago.
Does this latest announcement by WC imply that the application has been resubmitted and is now awaiting review by ORR? Or something more substantive? Hard to tell, but at least there is a formal statement about where the Jacobite stands even if there isn't, yet, a start date for the 2026 season.

 

“We have reached an agreement with the ORR” - What more does it need? Do you want chapter and verse or something? As ever the cheerful side of you looks down on this with the great taste of MK1s making a welcome return

 

My point was that WC had already said, some weeks ago, that they had conceded CDL had to be fitted if they wanted to run mk1s. That is the sum of agreement with ORR so isn't, in fact, anything new.
Like many people I was glad that WC had finally accepted ORR's advice about getting the mk1s back out. I'll be equally pleased when the mk1s are operational again, hopefully today's press release means that is closer to reality.

 

Quite. But the fact that it has been published in this way suggests a growing confidence that a resolution can be reached.

That is the uncertainty, and why celebrations are as yet premature

 

After driving all the way up there what's another 50 miles? Do it anyway the drive along the A830 to Mallaig is worth it if no train is running.

 

Have they actually reached an agreement with the ORR on anything?

It doesn't read like it. Conceding to fit CDL is not reaching an agreement - it is the bare bones requirement to run your stock on the national network.

Had they actually reached an agreement with the ORR concerning, they'd have been able to at the very least provide a date for the resumption of services or be running their mk1s without CDL on a temporary exemption as others enjoyed to the end of 2025.

 

I'll let you have that conversation with Mrs and Miss 35B!

 

No they wouldn’t. Because the ORR would require to come and inspect the work, sign the paperwork, etc. it doesn’t happen overnight.

 

No, but it would happen within a timescale agreed to by the ORR and applicant of a temporary derogation.

I really hope we see mk1s running in Fort William this year, have no grudge against West Coast having travelled on many of their trains in the past, but this press release says absolutely nothing new!

 

I totally share your scepticism. Nothing new there, just confirms what we already know, but now it’s out in the public domain.
My take away is that there’s currently no exemption granted.
Ulterior motive? Draw your own conclusion.

 

Ulterior motive? Like the fact they've realised that they've agreed to operate dozens of tours for RTC but can't resource them if the Jacobites run and the 5s are in Scotland? 34067 will be tied up being used as a Northern Belle headboard for most of the summer, and everything else is unavailable for one reason or another.

 

Bit like the middle east really, one side says it had an agreement but that doesn't mean anything has been agreed.

It strikes me as more PR balls from Carnforth just trying to put a positive spin from the dire straits of the Lune.
I think it was 28 years ago when it was first indicated CDL would eventually become a mandatory requirement. Perhaps WCR would like to wait until 2054 before it complies?

West Coast may say there is agreement. I will only believe it if and when the ORR says the same thing