A long-standing Heritage Railway Association scheme that provided working volunteers and staff on heritage railways with free or discounted travel and entry to other members of the scheme has been relaunched with a new look and a new name.

The previous scheme, known as InterRail, ran for over 25 years and gave free or discounted travel and entry for heritage railway volunteers and staff on more than 100 railways, cliff railways, and tramways across the UK.

The scheme’s new name is HRA Privilege and is the biggest scheme of its type in the world. It covers 113 railways and museums, most of which offer free travel to HRA pass holders, with the rest providing substantial discounts. The HRA Privilege identity has been deliberately designed so that it reflects the use of the term ‘privilege’, rather than a series of passes that were issued by the national rail network.

Along with the new name, a new online presence has been created that allows working volunteers and staff to purchase the HRA Privilege pass directly online, as well as through their own railway, although all passes are will be sent to the volunteers and staff railways for distribution.

Many member organisations of the Heritage Railway Association that take part in the scheme also receive a percentage discount on their annual corporate membership fees, which provides direct benefits to the railways and tramways, as well as from visitors using their passes.

The original scheme was set up to support some of the association’s work, and still funds significant parts of the organisation’s engagement, advocacy, communications, and business support work. The result is that the scheme benefits all association members significantly.

Research has found that if the scheme didn’t exist, over half the visits made using the reciprocal travel arrangements would not have happened. Also, although the scheme reduced revenue at the ticket office, there was an overall increase as the average secondary spend by a pass holder in catering and retail outlets was found to be £13 per visit.

All working staff or volunteers at participating railways are eligible for the HRA Privilege pass. A full list of participating railways and more information on how to buy a pass is available at heritagerailways.org

Heritage Railway Association Policy and Communications Manager, Mark Pearce, said: “We wanted to make the reciprocal travel scheme more accessible, but at the same time we found the name wasn’t widely understood. That’s why we’ve relaunched with a new identity and the ability to purchase online for the first time.

“I know from personal experience as a young working volunteer, that having the HRA pass made all the difference when I was looking to visit other railways and learn from how others did things. It’d be great to see more people from HRA members visiting each other’s railways and creating new opportunities to share their experiences and knowledge.”