A cash-strapped government department, which is facing a £500,000 budget overspend this year, forked out more than £225,000 on creating its new Pullman-style dining experiences train.
Community, Culture and Leisure Minister Graham Cregeen justified the spending in a written reply to a House of Keys question - saying it was estimated the dining car initiative would generate extra net income of £50,000 a year.
He was replying to a question from Zac Hall (Onchan) who asked whether there was a business case and cost-benefit analysis of the project.
Mr Cregeen said: ‘The department decided to take up a business opportunity to provide a unique dining experience for visitors, residents and business by converting these carriages into dining cars. This has created 66 dining spaces.’
The biggest cost has been to convert an old ‘Empress’ boat train van into a kitchen car, which Mr Cregeen described as the ‘unique feature’ of the dining train. Total upfront cost over the last two financial years was £149,369, which included ‘schematics, body overhaul, bogies overhaul, new wheels and kitchen fit-out’.
A further £46,576 was spent on overhauling an existing saloon bar carriage which was already planned for overhaul as it had woodworm.
And three other saloon carriages dating back to 1905 have so far been converted for the dining train at an extra cost of £9,900 per car - although the Minister didn’t give a figure for the refurbishment cost.
All the work was done with the DCCL’s existing budget through minor capital works with no additional funding requested from Treasury, he stressed.
Mr Cregeen said the main elements of the kitchen car had a life expectancy of 15 years and the carriages themselves would not require major overhauls for at least 30 years.
He said the dining train was an ‘obvious next step’ on the back of the success of the Snaefell dining experience.
The Minister said: ‘The department conservatively estimates additional net income of around £50,000 each year from the dining car initiative, which when marketed as corporate hospitality is a major income generator for heritage railways throughout the UK. We cannot afford to stand still but we must be clear and sure of our priorities and where we invest in the future.’
He said the DCCL’s calculations were based on a modest 3,334 bookings a year. Initial feedback had been ‘more than positive’, he said, adding: ‘The dining car is proving to be an exciting new facility.’