As of: March 28, 2024, 10:10 a.m
By: Franziska Kaindl
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The Harry Potter films attract fans from all over the world to the UK. A popular attraction can no longer be visited by tourists for the time being.
Every Harry Potter fan is familiar with the Hogwarts Express. What not everyone may know, however, is that the train that brings Harry, Hermione and Ron back to the School of Magic every year also exists in reality. The film producers used the panoramic train “The Jacobite” operated by West Coast Railways (WCR) in Scotland. The most famous part of the railway line is the journey over the Glennfinan Viaduct, which can also be seen in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”. No wonder The Jacobite has also become a popular tourist attraction. But now there is bad news: According to a report by the German Press Agency (dpa), the operation of the Hogwarts Express must first be put on hold.
Hogwarts Express is no longer in operation for the time being
The trip over the Glennfinan Viaduct is the highlight of the Jacobite steam train. © Marc John/Imago
The reason is therefore a pending decision as to whether the train will be allowed to continue to run without central locking in the future. The rail transport regulator had granted an exemption to the operator of The Jacobite for the past 30 years. Therefore, the train was allowed to continue to run with double-door carriages, where the doors had to be locked individually by the train attendants. After several fatal accidents in which passengers fell out of the carriages, the railway supervisory authority repealed this exception last year, as dpa reports.
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The operator, on the other hand, apparently failed to make adjustments in this regard. In December 2023, the London High Court confirmed a lawsuit by the railway supervisory authority that WCR would have to equip its historic trains with central locking. The operator is said to have submitted another application for an exception on March 8th.
“Nevertheless, WCR decided to sell tickets even though it was far from certain that a new application for an exemption would be approved either in time for the start of traffic or at all,” criticized a spokesman for the supervisory authority, according to a report by the BBC.
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Hogwarts Express: What happens to tickets that have already been purchased?
The West Coast Railways website informs customers that tickets for a journey cannot be purchased until further notice. Tickets already purchased should be fully refunded and processed via the payment method used for booking.
However, the operator seems to hope that “The Jacobite” will continue soon: Customers who have used a voucher should receive a replacement voucher of the same value, which they can redeem before April 30, 2025. According to an update from March 25th, the website only mentions that the trips from March 28th up to and including April 1st, 2024 will be canceled. So it remains to be seen how the situation develops.