Bosses at Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway defend new ANPR car parking charges

Bosses at one of Kent's top tourist attractions have defended their decision to introduce charges in their car parks saying it will help raise vital money to upgrade ageing facilities.

New ANPR cameras have been set up in car parks owned by Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway.

It means visitors arriving by car will now have to pay £2.50 to park for up to two and a half hours or £6 for the whole day to visit the attraction.

It comes as the historic railway is nearing its 100-year anniversary in 2027 and bosses are looking at ways to improve the attraction.

They have worked out it needs a staggering £30 million over the next decade to carry out all the planned repairs and upgrades it currently has on the cards.

It is hoped over the course of a year, the parking charges will generate between £50,000 and £60,000.

Danny Martin, general manager, says this will be a huge help when it comes to the railway’s day-to-day running costs.

“That [parking charges] alone is not going to make £30m, but it's a sizeable help,” he explained.

“And that's about where our current losses are.

“We're trying to get to the point where the railway day-to-day isn't making any losses.

“And then we're also looking at other streams of grants, new projects and things which are very early days to get to the £30 million.

“Virtually all of the steam railways in the country are struggling to break even.

“We are struggling, but we're not in the worst position by a long way.

“But of course, we're not renewing things and the danger is if you don't renew things, they eventually fall apart.”

The cameras were switched on for the first time last Saturday and despite some online criticism, the transition has been smooth.

Mr Martin said: “At this time of year, we are only open on a weekend and we only run a couple of trains so the number of people visiting was low.

“It’s very early days but we have had no problems last weekend. People were given a little note to explain it again in case they hadn't realised why we were doing it.

“We won't feel the revenue benefit until we get to Easter.

“We might get a few more people complain about it then, although we hope not.

“We've looked around and we've made sure that we're not greedy about the amount.

“It's one clear figure. It's not lots of people having to guess what they're doing.

“And because it's pay on exit, if they do decide to stay a bit longer, they haven't got to think, oh my gosh, I didn't put the right amount of money in.”

The plans to raise £30m were first discussed in the summer.

Mr Martin explained the money would go towards “improving existing buildings, infrastructure and rolling stock which are approaching the end of their working lives, and need replacing, modernising, or significant repair”.

The two main projects that RH&DR is hoping to focus funding on are buying new carriages and improving station facilities, particularly in Hythe and New Romney.

As well as parking charges, the railway is also looking at other ways to boost its income such as grants and lottery funding to put it in a stronger position to remain in operation for the next 100 years.

The parking charges have been introduced at New Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch stations and will be operated by Parking With Ease on behalf of the RH&DR.

The line, known as “Kent’s Mainline in Miniature”, sees one-third full-size steam and diesel locomotives run 13-and-a-half miles across the Kent coast from Hythe to Dungeness with four stops in between.