2026 UKR railtours

[yorkshirerail]

I called them on Friday on the off chance that there were still some Keighley - Rylstone spaces and was told that it was full. I did end up seeing the tour at Keighley and was surprised it was only 6 vehicles.

Unless it was related to the pick up points in the Midlands and platform lengths I can't think of another restriction making it this short.

It could be the stabling and servicing at the KWVR in the platform as you can only fit a 6 coach train fully into Platform 4 at Keighley

 

[The_Train]

It could be the stabling and servicing at the KWVR in the platform as you can only fit a 6 coach train fully into Platform 4 at Keighley

This was my best guess based on the fact it was tight to get all 6 coaches on the platform there

 

[308165]

It could be the stabling and servicing at the KWVR in the platform as you can only fit a 6 coach train fully into Platform 4 at Keighley

I'd wondered this as well, but I remember a 2+8 HST fitting in platform 4 in 2013, and I think the Elf Explorer trains are load 7 top and tailed.

 

[Denis103]

Coming soon - your £12 a mile railtour. Is it an April Fool joke ? Taken from the UKR website

The Quick Fix – UK Railtours

www.ukrailtours.com

 

[JonathanH]

Coming soon - your £12 a mile railtour. Is it an April Fool joke ? Taken from the UKR website

The Quick Fix – UK Railtours

www.ukrailtours.com

£5 cheaper than a similar offering in December. Sales will no doubt be dependent on what 66 ends up allocated to operate it, assuming the information emerges before then.

 

[31160]

Coming soon - your £12 a mile railtour. Is it an April Fool joke ? Taken from the UKR website

The Quick Fix – UK Railtours

www.ukrailtours.com

Hmm yeah that's a bit of a thing isn't it, even if you're booked on the main tour its the same price

 

[xotGD]

If folk just want to get to red pen the shed, then it doesn't matter if it is one mile or a hundred miles.

A bit of extra cash for the operator; smart thinking.

 

[Isle of Mull]

Hmm yeah that's a bit of a thing isn't it, even if you're booked on the main tour its the same price

They should have sold it cheaper for passengers on the main tour.

 

[bleeder4]

£30 for 10 minutes behind a random shed. It feels like they're scraping the bottom of the barrel with this one to be honest.

 

[43096]

£30 for 10 minutes behind a random shed. It feels like they're scraping the bottom of the barrel with this one to be honest.

Don’t buy a ticket then!

It is not zero cost to make this available for passengers; no doubt UKR has calculated the likely take-up vs the additional cost when setting the fare.

 

[Isle of Mull]

£30 for 10 minutes behind a random shed. It feels like they're scraping the bottom of the barrel with this one to be honest.

They definitely are, anything for some extra cash I suppose

 

[xotGD]

If nobody buys a ticket, then they will either not do it again, or charge less next time.

If they get a few dozen red penners on the train, then a good move by the operators.

 

[JonathanH]

They should have sold it cheaper for passengers on the main tour.

As with anything, customers are free to decide whether they want to purchase the product at the price offered. If a 'random shed' is all that ends up being allocated then it doesn't matter whether it is cheaper for people on the main tour or not because few will book it. I can't see too many people booking before there is more information about what 66 is available.

The main tour on 18 April is already sold out, the one on 25 April which is advertised to involve two 66s isn't.

£30 for 10 minutes behind a random shed. It feels like they're scraping the bottom of the barrel with this one to be honest.

There were plenty of people prepared to pay for 66315 before Christmas on the basis that a seven minute trip from Finsbury Park to Kings Cross could be its only ever GB passenger working.

 

[50002Superb]

Is anyone on here doing The Plant tour?

 

[31160]

If you look on the Facebook page of UKR you can see what sort of feedback the £30 mini tour is getting, hmm not going great guns to put it mildly

 

[Isle of Mull]

If you look on the Facebook page of UKR you can see what sort of feedback the £30 mini tour is getting, hmm not going great guns to put it mildly

They’ve already turned off comments

 

[JonathanH]

If you look on the Facebook page of UKR you can see what sort of feedback the £30 mini tour is getting, hmm not going great guns to put it mildly

Seems to have simply not been understood by a small portion of their customers, as being an additional option that no one is obliged to book.

The December opportunity to travel behind 66315 (which was £35) didn't seem to get the same vitriol. Guess they won't offer such positioning trips again, and GBRf will put 'desired' 66s on the ECS moves that aren't open to passengers.

Opening up the Rylstone trip for £50 from Keighley seems to have garnered some goodwill with those able to take up the offer, but equally I imagine that UKR lost money running that trip given the short formation. Even that pricing got negative comments from one person on Facebook.

 

[xotGD]

GBRf will put 'desired' 66s on the ECS moves that aren't open to passengers.

And then the same people complaining about the £30 will be complaining that they weren't able to scratch the shed.

 

[31160]

The last time they did this add on but, just before Christmas as someone says it was £35 but free if you were booked in the main tour which was selling poorly, now this time the main tour is a sell out and there's no discount for the mini if your booked on the main.
Oh by the way they've asked for 66704 as per the picture on the site

 

[JonathanH]

Oh by the way they've asked for 66704 as per the picture on the site

66704 has been working Eastleigh to Hoo over the last week. Presumably the plan is that it ends up spare at Ferme Park on the Friday night, but two weeks to pass before then.

 

[The_Train]

£30 for 10 minutes behind a random shed. It feels like they're scraping the bottom of the barrel with this one to be honest.

It's not a random shed, it is planned to be one that is clearly sought after by many people because otherwise there wouldn't be so much whinging about the price! The only possible reason anyone would want to do a "railtour" from Finsbury Park to Kings Cross is due to what is on the front and if you are not interested in what is on the front, you wouldn't do it

If you look on the Facebook page of UKR you can see what sort of feedback the £30 mini tour is getting, hmm not going great guns to put it mildly

Based on discussions on here and WNXX regarding every single railtour that gets announced, I wouldn't read too much into what people are saying on Facebook

 

[BillStampy]

"The Merry Men of Loughborough" has seemingly vanished off UKRT's website, any insight into why this has happened?

 

[The_Train]

"The Merry Men of Loughborough" has seemingly vanished off UKRT's website, any insight into why this has happened?

Because it has been cancelled

 

[BillStampy]

Because it has been cancelled

Oh dear, another one?

 

[31160]

"The Merry Men of Loughborough" has seemingly vanished off UKRT's website, any insight into why this has happened?

And a BLS tour has appeared for the same day Norwich to Liv St to position the stock for the 56 the next day

 

[Isle of Mull]

Because it has been cancelled

Ah jaysus not a good year for uk rail tours

 

[31160]

Ah jaysus not a good year for uk rail tours

Well I was on the BLS tour last weekend and they did some tannoy talk and mentioned the 56 tour on the Sunday that would have used the stock of the now cancelled tour, and the phrase "lots of places available" was used so I don't know how safe that one is. I'm not bothering with it as it's just too short notice to book your travel and it being Sunday it's a proper ball ache getting home from it

 

[The_Train]

Oh dear, another one?

Ah jaysus not a good year for uk rail tours

Unfortunately so. This is the 3rd tour I have been booked on with UKR that has been cancelled this year and I was only booked on this because they gave me a 20% discount for a previously cancelled tour. Thankfully I had already drawn up a backup plan for this day so the advances I bought won't go to waste

 

[Isle of Mull]

Unfortunately so. This is the 3rd tour I have been booked on with UKR that has been cancelled this year and I was only booked on this because they gave me a 20% discount for a previously cancelled tour. Thankfully I had already drawn up a backup plan for this day so the advances I bought won't go to waste

I’m quite reluctant to book with uk railtours now especially since I come from Ireland for them

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Apr 2026 ==

Well I was on the BLS tour last weekend and they did some tannoy talk and mentioned the 56 tour on the Sunday that would have used the stock of the now cancelled tour, and the phrase "lots of places available" was used so I don't know how safe that one is. I'm not bothering with it as it's just too short notice to book your travel and it being Sunday it's a proper ball ache getting home from it

You’d think BLS would do like 20% off to entice people to book

 

[bleeder4]

Very different era to the time when John Jarrow (RIP) was running things. He was proud of the fact that UKR never ever cancelled tours.