Watercress Line prepares to host ‘magical’ light show after the lockdown

Staff at the Watercress Line are eager to present a”world-first” Steam Illuminations event this Christmas season, if the national restrictions allow.

The spectacle was set to take place throughout November and December before the announcement of a second lockdown. The Mid Hants Railway team remain hopeful that the “magical” event will go ahead next month, confident it will be a “very safe evening out”.

This week staff will begin to attach the first of 13,000 LED lights to the carriages. As well as lights inside and outside the trains, ticket holders will receive an illuminated wrist band. Each light is individually programmable and synchronised to the music to create the spectacle.

The train will light up the countryside, transporting passengers on a round trip from Alresford to Alton.

Measures in place to protect customers against coronavirus include: temperature checks on arrival, screens between seatbacks and pre-booked food hampers delivered to people’s seats to prevent queuing.

General Manager Simon Baggott told WINOL: “I think the event we are running is safer than going to the supermarket.

“We’ve had a lot of great feedback this year, that people do feel safe riding on the railway and that’s been our objective.

“I’m reasonably optimistic the lockdown will ease sufficiently to allow the event to go ahead. I certainly hope so because I think it will bring a lot of joy to a lot of people.”

Additional trains could run in January if the lockdown continues past the 3^rd of December. Priority would be given to current ticket holders before being offered to the rest of the public. Mr Baggott said high demand could also encourage the railway to add more trains.

Prior to the restrictions, the event received a “colossal interest” taking bookings faster than any other event the Watercress Line have hosted previously. Within the uncertainty, ticket sales have decreased but Mr Baggott is still in high spirits telling WINOL: “I suspect that once we get the go ahead, bookings will pick back up considerably.

“I hope it will be something that we repeat in years to come and get even better at it. I hope it will become a bit of a local tradition, a bit like Blackpool Illuminations.”

Tickets are still available to book online.