The GWR has seen record train loadings so in its 25th year of operation, with the total number of tickets sold reaching 21,637: the highest number ever recorded over the same period.

The previous highest total to end of May was in 2003, when 21,155 tickets were issued.  That was the year when the extension to Cheltenham Race Course station was opened by HRH The Princess Royal.

Passenger figures on the GWR to the end of May 2009 were an impressive 14 per cent up over the same period as last year.  But with eight fewer operating days the railway has, on average, carried almost 27 per cent more passengers per train than in 2008.

There is little doubt that the visit of 5972 Olton Hall, appearing in its guise as the Harry Potter film star Hogwarts Castle, has had a magical effect on the number of visitors to the railway and the fine weather so far this year has no doubt helped.

The four-day Cotswold Festival of Steam returned an average of over 1,000 passengers per day and, coupled with the remaining days that the bright red locomotive operated services on the line, attracted nearly 7,000 fare-paying travellers - an average of 870 per day.  Of those, 27 per cent were issued at Cheltenham Race Course.

Malcolm Temple, finance and commercial director, is delighted with these figures.  "This shows that our basic business of running trains over our 10-mile Cotswold line is in very good health.  The visit of Olton Hall - the first time it has worked public trains on a heritage railway in its Hogwarts Castle guise - also attracted a lot of first-time visitors and we have received some very warm compliments from families who came to see it. 

"We are doing what we do best: giving a warm welcome to visitors and helping them to enjoy a memorable steam-hauled train ride over our beautiful railway.  I'd like to thank all of our volunteers, no matter how large or small the part they play and whether they have contact with customers or not, for making this possible.  We are all here because we love what we do and that comes over to our visitors loud and clear.  I have no doubt that adds to their enjoyment, too."

For those who like numbers (year to 31 May):