Experience the romance of steam as Tornado visits Settle and Carlisle line

As a way of saying thank you to customers on the line who have experienced difficulties, and significant engineering work since the landslip in February 2016, Northern has worked in partnership with Network Rail, DB Cargo, Friends of Settle and Carlisle, Settle and Carlisle Development Company, and Rail and Steam Railway magazines to run a steam service for three days in February.

Rail users will see two regular services a day, on 14, 15 and 16 February, replaced by a seven carriage Tornado hauled service. And there will be two extra services – one in the morning and one in the afternoon, featuring the much-loved engine.

Tickets are now available for the Tornado services, provided by The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, with four of the seven carriages on each journey available via pre-booking only. The remaining three carriages will operate as normal.

Paul Barnfield, Regional Director at Northern, said: “We know it has been a difficult time for people living on the Settle and Carlisle line and they have experienced unprecedented disruption to the services they have come to rely on. We, therefore, wanted to do something different – and a bit special – by way of saying thank you and the visit of Tornado allows us to do just that.

“Not only will local people by able to travel on the first regular timetabled UK steam service for almost 50 years, they will be able to do so on their own doorstep. And local businesses will benefit too.

“We expect large numbers of people to travel up and down the Settle and Carlisle line during the three days and these visitors will, no doubt, provide an unexpected boost to the economy.”

Paul added: “Demand for tickets will be extremely high and whilst there will be three unreserved carriages on each journey, I would strongly advise anyone who wants to travel to pre-book and reserve a seat.

“There will be seven carriages in total for each journey and standing will not be permitted – so spaces will be limited and we really don’t want anyone to be disappointed.

“The visit of Tornado will be a landmark moment for the Settle and Carlisle line and we want everyone who lives or works in the area to be able to savour the moment.”

Mark Rand of the Friends of Settle and Carlisle Line, said: “What more could anybody possibly want from a railway journey?   A ride behind a steam locomotive, Tornado, on one of the world's most spectacular train journeys at everyday prices.  This is another 'first' for everybody's best loved line and all coming during St Valentine's Week too!”

Terry Strickland, area director for Network Rail, said: “We are working round-the-clock to fully reopen the Settle-Carlisle line so normal services can begin running again. This has been a huge engineering challenge but will ensure the iconic line remains a key part of Britain’s rail network.

“The Tornado is a unique way to say thank you for people’s patience during the disruption and marks the countdown to the railway fully reopening on 31 March.”

Tickets for the Tornado services can be purchased from the usual retail outlets as well as via the Northern website and the Northern mobile app.

The timetable for each day of the Tornado services is as follows:

Appleby departs 8.25am

Skipton arrives 10.08am

Skipton departs 10.44am

Appleby arrives 12.16pm

Appleby departs 2.57pm

Skipton arrives 4.30pm

Skipton departs 5.15pm

Appleby arrives 6.46pm

Notes for editors

There will be a limited number of places available for the media to travel on the Tornado services on Tuesday, 14 February, but all travelling media must be accredited beforehand.

To register your interest in receiving accreditation please contact Northern press office on 01904 568652 or email [email protected]