Fed-up rail workers forced to clean up human waste left on the tracks by Harry Potter fans have finally been given a reprieve.
The Hogwarts Express steam train which chugs through the Highlands has fitted retention tanks to stop the contents of the toilets being dumped along the way.
It comes after a three-year campaign by local councillors who wrote to the train operators concerned about the discharge and pointing out the health risk to staff.
West Coast Railways operate The Jacobite train along the same 41-mile route featured in the Harry Potter films.
The company maintain the steam engine and carriages for the Hogwarts Express as seen in the movies, with twice-daily trips attracting up to 700 passengers.
The Jacobite route between Fort William and Mallaig over the spectacular Glenfinnan Viaduct is regularly voted one of the world’s greatest railway journeys.
And it became even more famous when the steam train starred as the Hogwarts Express in the Potter movies.
West Coast Railways confirmed that the trains would no longer be dumping waste along the tracks.
A spokesman said: “The tanks have been fitted and are working well. This is part of a programme to complete the work before the expiry of a temporary non-compliance, granted to a number of train operators, including West Coast Railways.”
The dispensation for non-compliance was due to run out this year.
Three years ago then local Highland councillor Allan Henderson, who was vice-convener of the council, said the Jacobite was not a magical experience for rail track workers and “continues to give some concern with the failure to install tanks to hold waste from toilets”.
He added: “During a Covid pandemic, this is the minimum that should be done to address the pollution problem.
“Waste cannot simply be dumped on the railway lines where railway workers have to be to continue required maintenance.
“While we all love the steam train and the business it brings, we cannot turn a blind eye to this practice.
“It’s all very well stopping people going (to the toilet) when the train is stopped at stations, what about the people working on the line?
“Ordinary trains are able to comply – all we want to do is make the situation better. It may be a magical experience for the passengers but not for the track workers.”
British Transport Police have in the past warned that fans are risking death by wandering on to the railway line to take photographs of The Jacobite.
In 2015 a couple and their child were among those seen running on the line.
The locomotive used to pull the Hogwarts Express in the films, the GWR 4900 Class 5972 Olton Hall, is located at Warner Bros Studio Tour London – The Making Of Harry Potter.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
