MORE than 9,000 people have already booked to see Santa at Severn Valley Railway this Christmas.
The railway is to run 200-plus Christmas and New Year "Santa Steam Specials" this year.
And staff will be working flat-out in the coming weeks as the total number of visitors to Santa's grotto at Arley is expected to be reach about 34,000.
The 16-mile Kidderminster to Bridgnorth railway is scheduled to run 209 trains, with capacity to carry more than 40,000 passengers, from Saturday, December 2 to Tuesday, January 2.
Everything from Christmas Carol trains to Haggis Specials will be running in the festive season.
SVR marketing manager John Leach said: "Our Christmas season preparations must be akin to that of a major military operation.
"Literally hundreds of volunteers and staff are either already involved or will be in the coming weeks.
"It's a remarkable patchwork of skills all coming together at the same time - the SVR volunteer ethic at its best."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article