Direct Rail Services (DRS) has decided that its open day should now be held every two years so that more time can be spent on planning the events.

Over 3,500 people attended its last open day, held at Direct Rail Services’ Gresty Bridge rail depot in Crewe.

It was also a family fun day that raised £39,000 for DRS’s sponsorship and donations fund to help deserving causes across the UK.

A feature of the open days is that there was plenty to keep the whole family entertained with the opportunity to sit in a real locomotive cab, observe working engines from close hand, see a heritage locomotive start, and charity auctions.

During last year’s open day, Class 66 locomotive 66422 was named Max Joule as a tribute to one of Direct Rail Service’s founders and its Managing Director until his tragic death in 1999, and 66424 was named Driver Paul Scrivens, who was a driver with Direct Rail Services for over 20 years until his untimely death earlier in the year.

The next open day is scheduled to take place in 2024 at the Direct Rail Services depot at Kingmoor in Carlisle. Further information about the event will be available nearer to the time on the Direct Rail Services website at https://www.directrailservices.com/

Julie Nerney, NTS Interim Managing Director for Rail said: “The open day of 2022 was a huge success, with around 3,500 attending and raising over £39,000 for our sponsorship and donations fund.

“We want to ensure that our next event is even better and to offer the best experience for our guests, that planning takes time, and a switch to a biennial schedule allows us to do that.

“I want to thank everyone for their continued support and look forward to welcoming them to our next event.”