Steam billowing from its funnel, the breathtaking sight of the Hogwarts Express chuffing majestically over the iconic Glenfinnan Viaduct has charmed tourists and passengers alike for 25 years. Ever since the train route featured in the Harry Potter films, this magical locomotive journey has cast a spell on the Highlands. On day trips from Fort William, The Jacobite ‘Harry Potter’ steam train has been disgorging upwards of 1,000 tourists onto the platform at the former fishing port of Mallaig. It is estimated that the arriving passengers – or Muggles – provide a £35 million boost to the Scottish economy and help support local jobs as well as a host of stores selling items related to the lucrative Harry Potter franchise.
But to the shock of locals, the train’s boilers have been allowed to fall cold and the funnels have run out of steam. Since the spring/summer season began last month, the Hogwarts Express has remained firmly in the sidings. Operators West Coast Railways has relied for many years on an exemption from the Railway Safety Regulations 1999, which requires heritage Mark 1 carriages to have a central locking system on their doors. However, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) safety regulators said this year’s application for an exemption was only received in March and that it can take four months to come to a decision.
Meanwhile, the picturesque village of Mallaig is slowly being starved of its one remaining main source of tourism income. The Hogwarts Express provided vital income for Mallaig and Fort William. Daniel Radcliffe played Harry Potter in the hugely popular movie franchise. Nowhere is the economic chill being more keenly felt than down Haggard Alley, a spooky emporium calling itself ‘a bestower of wondrous wares’. Set within the village’s former police station, it sells items such as an Albus Dumbledore replica wand for £31, a Bertie Botts keyring for £12 and the Harry Potter Cook Book at £16.99. At least, that was, until it shut.
Businesswoman Maria Wilson, 44, said that, just before its closure, shop takings had plunged by between 80 and 90 per cent. She added: ‘There is no doubt Mallaig and Fort William are finding things very difficult at the moment. I also have a shop in Fort William, based in the railway station, which I have had to close for now because it’s just not worth opening. The one in Mallaig is shut too. When the train didn’t run, we tried opening only on weekends but it didn’t even cover the costs. I only sell Harry Potter items in the shop, so I know I am going to be badly affected.’ Ms Wilson said that she has a number of employees who are becoming more and more concerned for their jobs. She added: ‘How long can they wait before they need to look for another job? Honestly, it’s worse than Covid. At least then we were getting some kind of financial support to tide us over. But I have little income coming in, yet I still need to pay rent, rates and electricity.’
It’s a similarly gloomy picture at The Raven, The Cat and the Witches Hat, a temporary cabin on Mallaig’s Davies Brae run by practising pagan Louise Beresford. The 47-year-old once did a roaring trade in cauldron-shaped burners, brooms and mystic crystals. But takings in April were down £2,000 on the previous year and the prospects for May look little better. She said: ‘I want to develop this site into a permanent building but the bank manager is going to say I don’t have many customers. You just need to look outside to see how quiet the village is. Why they can’t just fix the train and get it running again is beyond me. They have known about these things for 20 years.’
Across the road, hungry train passengers have been known to queue outside for a table in The Cabin restaurant, famous for its £17.50 fish teas. However, in an empty chippy this week, boss Elaine Bowman, 53, admitted: ‘We are dead. With the steam train running, you knew you were going to get the business. Now, you don’t know how much fish and potatoes to order, so you err on the side of caution. I recently paid the bills and wages and there was nothing left. Last year, there was enough left over to invest in some equipment. This year, no.’
The failure of the train service would be bad enough on its own but what has been described by one businessman as ‘a perfect storm’ has hit what was once Europe’s premier herring port. Since the start of the spring/summer season, ferry operator CalMac has been unable to provide the traditional roll on/roll off vehicle service to Armadale on Skye. CalMac says that boats which once served the route are needed elsewhere on a ‘stretched’ network, leading to the ‘difficult decision’ to prioritise other routes which don’t have alternative options to and from the mainland. Locals complain that, knowing they can’t travel ‘over the sea to Skye’, tourists are now simply bypassing Mallaig and cancelling hotel and B&B reservations.
It’s the unenviable job of a CalMac employee at the harbour to deliver the news to drivers that there’s no ferry to take them to Armadale, resulting in a three-hour detour to the Skye road bridge. Meanwhile, perched above the harbour, Matthew McCarthur runs one of the most picturesque bakeries in Scotland, with boats with names such as Fleur d’Ecosse bobbing below him in the bay. But it’s not been plain sailing at The Bakehouse for the last month, after what Matthew describes as ‘the perfect storm’ struck the former fishing port. Matthew, 42, rents the property from the Nevis Estate, owned by the billionaire theatre producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh. He said: ‘There’s no doubt that the village is quieter. It’s been a very slow start to the season. Problems have all come at once, the train, the ferries, the cost of living crisis and the war in the Middle East. The Signal Box in Fort William has had to close due to the Jacobite train not running to Mallaig. We would normally be going hell for leather at the start of the tourist season but we’re not open as much now and we are having to adjust our employees’ hours.’
For Brogan Dempster, the transport difficulties could not have come at a worse time. The 32-year-old had been due to provide the catering service on the steam train, including posh cream teas for First Class passengers. She has spent thousands on refurbishing the Bloom and Graze food outlet within the Mallaig station building, but now she fears for her staff. She said: ‘With the train not running, we’re not earning. It’s really dire in the village. There are not enough customers to sustain the businesses. Now, we have staff waiting to know if they have a job or not.’
Road to the Isles Marketing Group chair Sine Davis said: ‘The Jacobite steam train and the iconic Over the Sea to Skye experience are a cornerstone of the local rural economy. They bring consistently high passenger numbers that generate essential footfall in Mallaig and our surrounding communities. The ongoing uncertainty around both failing operations is creating significant challenges for local businesses, particularly as the season has already begun and much-needed Easter footfall and revenue has been lost.’
The technical issue at the heart of the delay to the train goes back as long as the service has been running. The law requires heritage rail operators to ensure that all passenger-carrying carriages are protected by a central locking system, which prevents doors and windows from being opened from the inside. For many years, West Coast Railways has relied on an exemption from the requirement, which has allowed them to keep the 1950s carriages running from March or April through to October. Shops like Haggard Alley that once did a roaring trade in Harry Potter merchandise have been left shuttered and empty. The case even ended up at the High Court in London three years ago, when West Coast Railways mounted a legal challenge to the safety requirement. The company claimed that implementing the measures would cost £7 million, effectively wiping out 10 years worth of profits. However, judge Justice Thornton threw out the case, saying that The Jacobite’s hinged doors ‘can be opened by anyone inside the train even when the train is moving’. This year, no exemption has yet been granted by the ORR.
A spokesman for the rail safety regulator said: ‘We note West Coast Railways recognises the need for central door locking on the Mark 1 carriages it operates. However, work remains to establish the feasibility, detail and delivery timeline of the proposed approach. ORR has not issued any exemption to the relevant requirements of the Railway Safety Regulations 1999 in relation to this matter.’ However, at West Coast Railways, hopes are now running high that the company could soon get the signal to fire up the Hogwarts Express again. Commercial manager James Shuttleworth said: ‘We made an application for an exemption on condition that we would implement a fitting programme of locks on our coaches. I am confident we will get through this and I expect a decision fairly soon.’ In Mallaig, a village is praying that, if ever there was a time for a boy wizard to wave a magic wand, this is it.
