Press release from the STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE Saxony, 27 February 2018
More than 1.1 million passengers: Saxony’s narrow-gauge railways set a new record in 2017
With 1.107 million passengers in 2017, the operators achieved a new demand record. The result was the occasion for presenting a certificate documenting the positive development of the narrow-gauge railways to Saxony’s Minister-President, Michael Kretschmer. The plaque, presented on behalf of the Saxon railway operators and partners of the STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE Saxony network by Ingo Neidhardt, Managing Director of Sächsisch-Oberlausitzer Eisenbahngesellschaft (SOEG), traces the development of the last three annual results. Having already passed the one-million mark in 2015, the figure rose by a total of more than eight per cent by 2017 – faster than the number of overnight guests over the same period. By taking on the patronage of the STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE Saxony, Saxony’s Minister-President Michael Kretschmer committed himself as a partner to the further development of the railways and commented on their importance: “The narrow-gauge railways are thus an important driver for tourism and the regional economy. When they were built, they stood for modern connections in rural areas, and they still make a contribution to public transport today.” Commenting on the growing popularity of the railways, Ingo Neidhardt said at the presentation of the plaque: “This impressive figure demonstrates the great appeal of the railways as tourist magnets, also for the regions. The growing popularity in recent years is the result of many clever marketing ideas by the railways themselves, but also of the joint marketing through the STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE Saxony.” Other factors behind the record result included the complete reopening of the Weißeritztalbahn to Kurort Kipsdorf, the start of services on the line to the Schwerer Berg on the Muskau Forest Railway and an impressive anniversary-year programme on the museum-operated Preßnitztalbahn in the Ore Mountains. Incidentally, last year’s combined figures for the five daily narrow-gauge railways and the narrow-gauge museum railways in Saxony exceeded those of the Harzer Schmalspurbahnen, which also carried more than one million passengers in 2017.
As a Saxony-wide marketing network supported by the Free State under the umbrella of SOEG, the STEAM RAILWAY ROUTE Saxony has brought together what are now 170 partners since 2010. In addition to the historic and tourist railways, these include numerous offers from hospitality to leisure experiences. Various bookable packages, from “Weingenuss auf schmaler Spur” in the Saxon Elbe Valley to the “Dampfzauberwoche” in the Zittau Mountains, appeal to different target groups. A new booking catalogue bringing together numerous tourism offers along the railway lines will be presented at the International Tourism Exchange Berlin (ITB) the following week.
