The Jacobite steam made a stop-start return to the track this week as MPs, MSPs and members of the public continue a campaign to secure the future of the service.
The train, made famous in the Harry Potter movies, broke down on its first day back in service after being sidelined amid safety fears.
The failure of the service caused knock-on issues on the West Highland Line on Monday, with trains between Fort William and Mallaig impacted.
Run by West Coast Railways (WCR), the steam train starts off at Fort William and takes in the famous Glenfinnan viaduct and Arisaig, before reaching Mallaig.
The operator halted the service in March over health and safety fears as it waited for an exemption for its “slam doors”, which were deemed to be unsafe by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
The firm introduced its fleet of standard carriages with central locking doors on the famous train on Monday April 15, although the popular Harry Potter coach was missing as it returned to action.
In a statement, a WCR spokeswoman said: “West Coast Railways apologises to customers on our Jacobite service.
“On Monday, just outside of Glenfinnan, the Jacobite broke down due to extremely poor weather conditions.
“The team onboard did their best to restart the service, but the Jacobite had to be rescued by another diesel engine and we were not able to offer customers the experience we planned.
“We will be issuing them with compensation and we were pleased that the Jacobite ran as normal from the following day.”
The service will continue to run with a reduced capacity, with a morning service running instead of the usual twice a day.
More than 6,500 people have now signed a petition, started by Mallaig business owner Maria Wilson, aimed at trying to get the Jacobite back on track and renew WCR’s exemption.
Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, has called for a solution to be found as a matter of urgency, as well as urging people to visit the town on normal ScotRail services.
She said: “This is an exemption that has been granted on an extraordinary basis for the last few years and businesses are conflicted because they think that, ultimately, we shouldn’t be dependent on one major business that may or may not receive an exemption at the last minute.
"That makes it an uncertain environment in which to operate.
"They would far rather have that guarantee, so it is incumbent on WCR and the ORR to recognise just how impactful this is and to figure out a solution for next year that doesn’t depend on last minute changes which is no way to run a business, let alone manage a small town.
"This will have a huge impact unless we get the message out that Mallaig is still open."
Elsewhere, eight MPs, whose constituencies are served by WCR, have signed a letter to the Minister of State for Rail, Huw Merriman MP, to support WCR in its Jacobite season.
The letter asks the minister to "urgently consider for yourself, and in turn discuss with the ORR, whether its refusal of the temporary exemption is based on legitimate regulatory reasons. We are deeply concerned that it is not."
The letter can be read by visiting westcoastrailways.co.uk/news/jacobite-letter-from-mps-re-wcr.
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