A review is being launched into the future and ‘true value’ of the island’s heritage railways.

The move had sparked concerns that cuts could be announced in the year that the Steam Railway celebrates its 150th anniversary and the MER its 130th anniversary.

According to the terms of reference of the independent review and economic impact assessment, its objective is to ‘answer key questions’ about the ‘true value’ of the heritage railways and how the benefits of their operation compare to the costs.

The review will consider whether the heritage lines are being ‘governed, organised and operated optimally’.

It will analyse of the ‘nature, extent and justification’ of the public subvention and how this compares with heritage lines elsewhere.

Supporters of the Manx railways will be troubled by the review’s remit to evaluate the ‘appropriateness’ of the timetable and to consider the ‘alternative use of any railway assets found to be no longer required’.

A final review and economic impact assessment will be provided by the end of June this year and will take into account a separate review being conducted by Manx National Heritage into the value of heritage to the island.

Chief Minster Alfred Cannan told the House of Keys in October that the future of the island’s heritage railways was one area under consideration as part of a wider review into the structure of the Department of Infrastructure.

He suggested they could be run at arm’s length to government by a charitable trust.

The Victorian transport network was last reviewed five years ago by consultants Systra as part of the government’s SAVE programme.

It found the railways bring between £4.5m and £22m of tourism spend to the island.

In the 2017-18 they cost £4.87m to operate but only generated 1.66m of revenue and so required £3.41m of subvention.

The Systra report considered but ruled out closing the Steam Railway line between Castletown and Port Erin but said the impact of closing the MER line between Laxey and Ramsey should be looked at.

It noted the contribution that charitable status could make to the railway but saw this as a supportive role not a total replacement for government funding.

Five years on, the DoI has decided to commission a further independent report and impact assessment.

The review will evaluate whether the heritage railways could be used to provide regular passenger and freight services given the costs and benefits.

It will identify and analyse the revenue and capital costs of operating each element of the lines and how these compare between themselves.

The review will clarify the appropriate level of investment in the track, rolling stock and the promotion needed.

It will compare fare structures with other heritage lines and consider how other government departments, Manx National Heritage and other public bodies could or should be involved in governance, funding and operations.

The report will evaluate other organisational structures including charity and foundation status, for fundraising and operations, and how volunteers could be involved.

There will be benchmarking of the terms and conditions of the staff employed and to what extent volunteers could be used.

The review will also have a remit to analyse the cost benefit viability of each major section of the railway on a standalone and combined basis.

This will include evaluation of the impact of the length of the horse tramway and extending MER operations to the War Memorial.