The Bala Lake Railway would like to welcome you to a safe steam train ride though the beautiful scenery of the Snowdonia National Park. In order to do so, our passengers agree to the following conditions prior to purchasing their tickets or prior to travel.
- You agree to stay away and not to travel on our trains if you, or any member of your family or anyone with whom you have been in close contact have developed any of the symptoms of Covid-19 within the last 7 days. The symptoms include: A new and persistent cough, a high temperature, a loss of taste or smell.
- For each journey taken you must pay the appropriate fare and must have a valid ticket for your complete journey. This applies to all persons and dogs travelling (except for children under 3 years old). Dogs are carried at the Company’s discretion. Guide dogs and assistance dogs travel free.
- Children 3 years and over, and under 16 years are carried at a reduced fare. Children under 3 are carried free provided they do not occupy seats required by fare paying passengers. Children under 3 are not issued with tickets.
- Any concessionary travel or discounted fares are offered at the discretion of the Bala Lake Railway Company (‘the Company’) and may be withdrawn at any time without notice.
- Tickets are valid only for the date and time shown on the ticket and the date and times are not interchangeable or transferable.
- All tickets are sold on the basis of a firm booking and are not refundable or transferable. If you change your mind or cannot travel we will not provide a refund, therefore if there is a possibility that your plans might change please wait until nearer the date or time of travel to purchase your tickets. We are making exceptions only for those genuinely and directly affected by Covid-19 as further described in our Fair Ticketing Policy.
- Whilst every care will be taken to ensure that trains run as advertised, the Company reserves the right to vary the published timetable and to alter, cancel or suspend any train without notice and accepts no liability for any loss, delay or inconvenience this may cause.
- If, due to unforeseen circumstances, we cancel your train (on time specific pre-booked services only), we will refund the monies paid by you, including any booking fee. We will NOT be liable for any other costs.
- If you fail to arrive in time and at the correct location for the departure of your train we will NOT refund any monies paid nor be under any obligation to offer you any alternative departures.
- If you are unable to travel to the Bala Lake Railway as a result of severe weather or illness (except Covid-19 – see our Fair Ticketing Policy) we DO NOT offer a refund or replacement tickets.
- The Company uses steam traction (unless otherwise stated) for all its scheduled services, but it reserves the right to substitute diesel traction in the event of an emergency or breakdown.
- The steam locomotives that haul our trains emit smoke and cinders, the Company will not be held responsible for soiled clothing or cinder in the eye.
- These conditions apply to any person travelling on the Company’s trains whether or not this is stated on the ticket.
Fair Ticketing Policy (applicable due to Covid-19 restrictions)
Like many businesses we are adapting the way we operate to ensure the safety of our customers, our staff and volunteers.
One of the consequences of ensuring that passengers on our trains remain a safe distance apart is that we have reduced the capacity of our carriages by putting seats out of use. In some carriages that have 28 seats we are now only able to use a maximum of 12 seats for 3 groups of people, and if these groups are just single individuals the maximum capacity is reduced to just 3. For this reason, and to make offering a service viable we are introducing a minimum fare of £20 per booking transaction (per group not per person).
Tickets are sold for the selected train departure(s) and date and are not interchangeable.
Tickets must be purchased in advance of travel and can be purchased up to the time of departure subject to availability of seats.
Refunds
Tickets sold constitute a firm booking for the designated train departure and date, and are not refundable.
However, if you are unable to travel because you or any member of your party are having to self-isolate as a consequence of contracting covid-19 or being in contact with someone who has the disease and have been advised through the government’s track and trace system to self-isolate, then we will offer to amend the date of your booking at no charge. We will also, at our sole discretion, be prepared to offer a refund (less 10% transaction charges) but only if you are able to support your claim by providing written proof. We regret having to impose such conditions in order to deter false claims.
In the event that we have to cancel the service on which you have purchased tickets, we will offer an alternative or provide a full refund.
Other Information
Llangower station and Pentrepiod Halt are closed until further notice, and tickets to and from these stations are not available.
Please make sure you have selected the correct departure station.
Llanuwchllyn is our main station and is located 5 miles west of Bala, postcode LL23 7DD. Free car parking is available at the station. If you are travelling through Bala, please ignore the brown tourist signs in the town as they will direct you to Bala station, but please follow them once you reach the village of Llanuwchllyn rather than rely on satnav which sometimes directs to a nearby farm instead of the station.
Bala station is on the outskirts of Bala, postcode LL23 7BS. The station is normally unmanned, and car parking is only available on the roadside near the entrance. Follow brown tourist signs from Bala to the station.
We strongly advise that you aim to arrive at the station at least 15 minutes before your train is due to depart. Please be aware that queuing times for the café and toilets at Llanuwchllyn station may be a lot longer than usual due to covid-19 restrictions.