Waterford Suir Valley Railway back on track

Waterford Suir Valley Railway reopened in style on Wednesday, 1st July. The new livery on the locomotive Enterprise 3 and two carriages were unveiled to the approval of the board of directors, staff and volunteer crew.

This is all part of a wider rebranding programme for the Waterford Suir Valley Railway (WSVR) to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of this innovative Social Enterprise project. The changing of the train livery to the new colour palate for the company was in conjunction with the development of a new logo, website, brochure and signage. The rebranding project is grant aided by Waterford Leader Partnership LTD Rural Development Programme.

At the launch, WSVR Chairperson John Norris said, “As the company celebrates 20 years since it was founded, we felt it was the right time to refresh the brand. The railway has been transformed in the past 20 years from a concept to a working railway and tourist attraction. With the opening of Waterford Greenway in 2017, it gave the project a whole new lease of life and brought about the need for extra services for Greenway users and the opening of the Whistlestop Café in 2019 at Kilmeadan Station. The brand needed to reflect these changes.” John, continued, “We are delighted with the work Totem have done, they followed the brief and presented us with a vibrant, friendly, fresh new image that will represent the WSVR’s ethos going forward. We are also very proud of the how the maintenance crew, led by James Kelly and David Darlington took the project on board, repainting the rolling stock to show off the new colours.”

The railway will now operate daily until the 1st November. New protocols have been put in place to mitigate for Covid-19. The capacity of the train has been reduced considerably. Visitors are encouraged to book online on the new website www.wsvrailway.ie, bookings are also taken by telephoning the ticket office on 051 384058. Perspex partitions have been put in between the open compartments. Only one family/couple/individual will be booked in to each compartment. All staff and volunteers have under gone training in the new protocols. They take their temperature on arrival to work, wear protective face shields and disinfect the train compartments between trips, along with following government guidelines for social distancing and hand washing.

Maria Kyte, Manager, of Waterford Suir Valley Railway said, “We had great plans for 2020 with the launch of the new brand and the first full year operating the Whistlestop Café. It has been a disappointing start to the year but it has also made us rethink how the railway operates and it is so uplifting to see how all the crew have come on board with the new way of operating in such a positive manner. We now look forward to welcoming all our visitors to both the railway and Waterford Greenway and to make the most of the next few months. The most important thing is that we all behave in a safe manner to protect ourselves, our customers and our loved ones.”

Further information on Waterford Suir Valley Railway is available on the new website www.wsvrailway.ie or calling 051 384058.