2026 UKR railtours

[Isle of Mull]

UK Railtours just confirmed that their October tours are now postponed due to operating company Hanson & Hall Rail Services saying they are no longer able to run on 2nd & 3rd October

This is perhaps the worst year for Uk railtours

 

[Kite159]

From the WNXX forum it sounds like Hanson & Hall won't run railtours without rolling stock with window bars fitted to prevent idiots from hanging out of the windows. Not the best news for anybody who had booked on either of those tours who has now potentially wasted money on advance tickets they can't use or accommodation if it hasn't got a fee free cancellation

 

[Isle of Mull]

From the WNXX forum it sounds like Hanson & Hall won't run railtours without rolling stock with window bars fitted to prevent idiots from hanging out of the windows. Not the best news for anybody who had booked on either of those tours who has now potentially wasted money on advance tickets they can't use or accommodation if it hasn't got a fee free cancellation

That's not great, do they operate BLS tours too?

 

[sad1e]

The official notice of postponment from UKRT.
It reads "
Hanson & Hall are sorry to advise all customers booked on the UKR 02nd and 03rd October charter services that we have no choice but to postpone the operations until a later time.

This decision was not taken lightly but has been forced upon us entirely by the behaviour of a very small minority, who continue to believe it is acceptable to lean out of open windows whilst trains are in motion, putting themselves and others at great risk. Hanson & Hall have been advised by the most respected safety authorities that all efforts to finally eliminate this behaviour and secure charter operations for those who do comply with very clearly set down rules of conduct, that some alterations are required to the method of these operations.

Despite the best efforts of all parties, it has not been possible to complete the requested changes with confidence of achieving the planned dates. The safety of our customers and colleagues is the highest priority and has forced this postponement. We are working as quickly as possible to identify suitable replacement dates of operation.

If making contact with the UKR team, please be patient with them and they will do their best to help with any questions. "

 

[LUYMun]

Hanson & Hall should stick to driving trains next time.

 

[JonathanH]

Hanson & Hall should stick to driving trains next time.

As the operator, they are responsible for the safety of all passengers. If there were to be a claim of negligence, and a resulting financial penalty, it would be personally crippling for their owners. That risk is almost certainly something they are not happy to take.

 

[Robin Edwards]

I've travelled on many UKRailtour trips over the years and would say that 1) they are extremely diligent in reminding passengers that they must not poke their heads or anything else out of any vestibule windows, and 2) I can't remember the last time I've seen anyone leaning out of windows except on Heritage lines that is.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Today at 08:55 ==

From the WNXX forum it sounds like Hanson & Hall won't run railtours without rolling stock with window bars fitted to prevent idiots from hanging out of the windows. Not the best news for anybody who had booked on either of those tours who has now potentially wasted money on advance tickets they can't use or accommodation if it hasn't got a fee free cancellation

Can't say I've seen any "idiots" doing such on rail tours for some considerable time. There's always potential for idiocy in life but has there been any recent examples made of some idiots on UKRailtours?

 

[ainsworth74]

I've travelled on many UKRailtour trips over the years and would say that 1) they are extremely diligent in reminding passengers that they must not poke their heads or anything else out of any vestibule windows, and 2) I can't remember the last time I've seen anyone leaning out of windows except on Heritage lines that is.

I don't think a UKR tour was the problem tour for H&H, UKR are just the victims of the decision not to run tours until window bars are fitted.

 

[ExRes]

Hanson & Hall should stick to driving trains next time.

They do, UK Railtours are responsible for the tour while H&H are responsible for provision of the loco and the safe conduct of said tour, as nobody on here knows what conversations have gone on betweeen H&H, UKR and perhaps Network Rail then pointing fingers is a futile exercise

 

[Robin Edwards]

I don't think a UKR tour was the problem tour for H&H, UKR are just the victims of the decision not to run tours until window bars are fitted.

That's a shame, especially where decision is seemingly made only one week from running?

 

[Harpo]

ORR has recently (30 June) served West Coast with an Improvement Notice to address window hanging by unauthorised staff and passengers.

Hanson & Hall will doubtless have been aware of that and it’s possible that ORR might have followed it up with reminders to all other duty holders.

https://orrprdpubreg1.blob.core.windows.net/docs/IN-KPD01-062026-West-Coast-Railway-Company-Ltd-improvement-notice.pdf

West Coast Railway Company Ltd failed to ensure the safety of their employees and others who may be affected by their work activities, in that they are failing to give effect to such arrangements as are appropriate, to protect people from the risks of serious personal injury due to being struck by objects or structures because they have failed to prevent persons from leaning out of drop-light windows while the train is in motion.