July 2020

The time is finally here! The East Lancashire Railway is thrilled to be able to announce that we will begin running limited services every Saturday and Sunday throughout August. We will be following Government guidelines to ensure the safety of visitors, volunteers and staff.

We wouldn’t have made it this far without the compassion and support of our community, and we couldn’t be more grateful. Now we ask that you help keep us on track by supporting our re-opening and picking up one of our travel tickets!

This is the first stage of a phased re-opening that will see the railway running on 1,2,8 and 9 August. We hope to keep operating past this date and we will be reviewing our approach going forwards. In the meantime you can purchase one of our advance tickets and join us as we get back to doing what we do best, steaming through the Irwell Valley!

Greater Manchester and East Lancashire have additional measures in place to control COVID 19. These do not affect visits to the visitor attractions such as the ELR. However the ELR have put in place additional measures as a precaution to allow us to re-open slowly and safely. These are as follows:

• All visitors must pre-book tickets in advance of travel.
• There will also be an enhanced track and trace system.
• All visitors and staff will be required to have their temperature taken upon arrival at the station. Individuals that exhibit a high temperature will not be permitted to enter the attraction.
• Family groups are requested not to mingle with other people outside your care bubble. This is for everyone’s safety and protection.
• Seating will be restricted to maximise social distancing. This will be allocated by the carriage steward.
• Face masks will be compulsory for all visitors.
• Additional cleaning measures and sanitisation facilities will be available.
• One way systems for entry and exit from stations will be in place.
• Social distancing must be maintained.

We DO NOT want to head into a full lockdown so PLEASE play your part in helping everyone stay as safe as possible.

Find timetable information, prices and book your tickets here.

An update on the current opening times for the Trackside and Bufferstops Bars.

Following another successful weekend the pubs will now be running on expanded opening hours, Wednesday to Sunday. We plan to trial this for two weeks.

Please note the pubs will not be open Monday and Tuesday.

Please see the current opening hours below:

Trackside

Bufferstops

Please note the bars may close early if there is low demand.

Opening times will be reviewed weekly. Any further updates on opening times will be announced as and when the information becomes available so watch this space.

See it for yourself!

An update on the current opening times for the Trackside and Bufferstops Bars.

Following a successful opening weekend on the 4 and 5 July we have made the descision to open again on Friday 10, Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 of July.

Please note the pubs will not be open Monday to Thursday during the week.

Please see the current opening hours below:

Trackside

Bufferstops

Please note the bars may close early if there is low demand.

Opening times will be reviewed weekly. Any further updates on opening times will be announced as and when the information becomes available so watch this space.

See it for yourself!

We have a couple of important ipdates to share!

Firstly lets start with some good news!! .

The Trackside and Bufferstops Pubs are planning to re-open on Saturday 4th July. We will of course be taking steps to make sure government guidelines are followed to protect the team and the public so you can enjoy your pint and tipple safely. We will be releasing this information and opening hours in the coming days.

We are also working hard to ready the locomotives and track for re-opening the trains to passengers. Watch for further updates very soon.

Over the past few months, we have been overwhelmed by your generosity be that through donations, turning your orders into vouchers and of course your truly kind messages, emails, and letters. Thank you all So very much for this.

So far, we have raised an absolutely staggering £140,000 (including gift aid). We still have a way to go to reach our £200,000 goal and the ELR still needs your support and any contributions that you can make will help us to keep steaming for the long-term future.

Thank You all once again for your continued support , and we will be seeing you all very soon.