What Is the HRA?
The Heritage Railway Association or HRA is a voluntary run trade association representing Heritage & Tourist railways, related Museums, Tramways, Cliff Lifts, Railway Preservation Groups and related organisations.
More than 180 of our member organisations regularly open to the public, with 156 of these operating with passengers, although a few only give rides on special days. We have over 300 corporate members in total.
We are here to assist and guide our Members, who may be any organisation that is heritage rail related, and is preserving, or helping their visitors understand, or just enjoy, our rich rail based history.
Our organisation is not primarily here to help members of the public with heritage matters, or give them detailed information about our Members.
HRA Membership
The HRA is run by its Members, and is a not-for-profit Limited Company.
There are several classes of Members, and the primary section is made up of our “Corporate” Members. These are organisations or groups that are actively involved in preserving or operating heritage rail, from the largest tourist railways, through to small heritage groups renovating or preserving a single carriage or wagon.
An important benefit of being a Corporate Member of the HRA is the ability to participate in the InterRail Scheme. This scheme enables Members to give something back to their Volunteers, whilst at the same time assisting funding of the HRA.
Of course, no organisation like the HRA would be complete without welcoming trade or “Affiliate Members” who wish to support our aims.
We also welcome individual private Members or “Friends of the HRA” who can attend meetings, and participate in all HRA Events, but may not vote at AGMs. “Friends” may also participate in the HRA Interrail Scheme at an individual cost of £120.
Services
We are here to assist and guide any organisation that is heritage rail related, and is preserving, or helping people understand or just enjoy our rich railway history.
There is a serious side to our operation, and that is working, sometimes closely with the Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR), to help our members keep their attractions running safely. Running one of our Member organisations these days is tremendously complex, and we can provide all sorts of information, guidance and advice from safe operation, through to business, and legal matters.
The HRA provides Guidance, regular Seminars and Conferences – in fact anything that will help our Members operate safely and successfully.
Another service for our members, is our Parliamentary Lobbying, and we give them the voice that they need to, where possible, shape national requirements for our sector. Our Parliamentary Receptions that we organise from time to time, help Members to meet and chat with their elected representatives and Government Ministers.
There are various types of HRA Membership available specifically for Corporate organisations, actively involved in preservation, to affiliates, but also for private individuals and commercial entities.
If you would like to speak with the HRA about any issues that you, as a member, might have, then please contact us.
