Safety regulations were made in 1999 after passengers were killed or injured by falling from the doors of Mark I trains or being hit by doors opened at platforms.

In January 2005, a rule came into force banning rolling stock with hinged doors without central locking but the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) can issue exemptions.

That has allowed West Coast Railway (WCR) to run the Jacobite - which runs from Fort William to Mallaig - and other heritage trains without upgrading doors.

Instead of a central locking system, WCR's vehicles have a “secondary” mechanism where doors are pulled shut into a locked position and a bolt is used on the inside of a coach with stewards employed to monitor safety.

In 2022 a passenger in Reading managed to jump off a moving WCR train having overcome the steward and opened the bolted door.  He was caught by platform staff before he injured himself or anyone else.

 It followed an incident two years earlier when a train left York station with an open door.

WCR said it reviewed and updated safety management systems following the incidents.

The company took legal action against the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) last year after it refused to issue a further exemption.

The company complained that the multimillion-pound cost of having to retrofit central locking could “destroy” its business and argued its door systems were just as safe.

WCR, whose trains run at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour, argued in court that its door procedures were as safe as a central locking mechanism, with train stewards operating them and warning signs for passengers.

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But in a ruling in December a judge dismissed the operator’s case and concluded that the ORR had taken a “justifiable” approach.

Mrs Justice Thornton said in her written judgment that WCRCL is the largest operator of “heritage train tours” in the UK.

The company also operates the Flying Scotsman “which is considered to be one of the best-known locomotives in the world”.

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The operator's current, temporary exemption expired on February 29 2024, after a whistle-blower report triggered an ORR inspection that led to safety changes by WCRCL earlier this year.

WCR claim the cost of fitting CDL to all its coaches would be £7million.

The rail regular estimates the cost at around £350,000 per train and said operators were only permitted to run a maximum of four per day, meaning a potential outlay of around £1,393,960.

It said other operators had covered the cost with a "modest" rise in ticket prices.

Belmont British Pullman, Vintage trains have fitment plans and Hastings diesels and Locomotive Services Limited have already complied. 

The Jacobite contributes £19.3 million a year to the Scottish economy on top of £4.72 million in ticket revenue from 101,429 passenger journeys.

WCR is awaiting a decision by the ORR on a further exemption and says the regular has allowed other heritage firms to continue operating with hinged doors.