Passenger figures just released by the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway show the first rise in Easter Bank Holiday visitors for almost a decade.

The railway carried 4,635 people over the four days of the holiday weekend compared to 4,187 in the same period last year, an increase of 11 per cent. Revenue rose by 15 per cent.

Dr Matt Stroh, for the K&WVR, says: "In absolute terms an increase of 448 visitors is not huge but the percentage increase of 11 per cent is extremely welcome.

"When one hears that even massively funded attractions such as the Greenwich Dome had disappointing visitor numbers over Easter I am delighted that the K& WVR is still seen as an extremely attractive place to visit.

"It is particularly pleasing to see a rise in the sales of our Day Rover tickets which now offer unlimited all-day rail travel and free admission to the Museum of Rail Travel at Ingrow."

Forthcoming events on the K&WVR include a gala weekend of 19th-century goods locomotives on May 13 and 14, and the ever-popular Friends of Thomas Weekend on June 3 and 4.

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