Terms and Conditions

By purchasing tickets you agree to the following terms and conditions.

1. Definitions

When the following phrases with capital letters are used in these Conditions, this is what they will mean:

Event Outside Our Control: is defined in clause 6.

Filming of Children Consent Form: the form which We may ask you to sign to consent to the filming of children during the provision of the Experience for the purpose of marketing and publicity;

Order: your order for the Experience;

Experience: carriage and entertainment on board the South Devon Railway’s THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride pursuant to and, as set out in, your Order;

Conditions: the conditions set out in this document; and

We/Our/Us/The company: PNP Events who operate the event, at and on behalf of South Devon Railway. PNP Events registered offices are at PNP Events, J12 Halesfield 19, Telford

When We use the words “writing” or “written” in these Conditions, this will include e-mail unless We say otherwise.

2. Our contract with you

When you submit your order and payment to Us, it does not mean We have accepted your order for the experience. Our acceptance of your order will become binding between you and Us when We issue you with an email acceptance of your order at which point a contract will come into existence between you and Us.

We will provide you with a “Processing Order” email until We ship your order. We will then provide you with a “Completed Order” email indicating your Tickets have been dispatched to you. See below for shipping estimates.

Your Tickets permit you passage on board the experience ONLY on the date and time stated on your order.

3. Changes to order or conditions

We may revise these terms and conditions from time to time in the following circumstances:

changes in how we accept payment from you; and
changes in relevant laws and regulatory requirements

4. The Experience / THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride Event

We will supply the experience to you on the date and time set out on your order.

You should arrive for your experience at least 30 minutes prior to the time given on your order. We will not be liable if you miss the experience as a result of your late arrival, and will not be obliged to hold up the experience to wait for you, or provide a seat for you on the experience at another date and time.

Whilst We attempt to run the event as close to THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride experience as possible we may need, at short notice, to make operational changes to enable the event to continue to run – this may include substituting the Steam Engine for a Diesel Locomotive

We will make every effort to complete the experience at the time set out on your order, however there may be delays due to an ‘Event Outside Our Control’.

We may have to suspend the Experience if We have to deal with technical or mechanical problems, or to make improvements to the Experience. We will make a reasonable effort to contact you to let you know in advance where this occurs, unless the problem is urgent or an emergency. You do not have to pay for the Experience while it is suspended under this clause.

We will not be obliged to allow any child less than 18 years of age on board the Experience unless that child is accompanied by a responsible person aged 18 or over. Unaccompanied children under the age of 18 will not be allowed to board. You may be asked to present valid proof of age prior to boarding the Experience.

Children over the age of 17 must purchase an adult ticket. If you are unable to produce valid proof of age when asked to do so, you may be refused travel on board the Experience.

5. Pricing and payment

The price of the Experience will be set out on our website or in literature at the time We confirm your Order. Our prices may change at any time, but price changes will not affect Orders that We have confirmed with you.

6. Events Outside Our Control

We will not be liable or responsible for any failure to perform, or delay in performance of, any of Our obligations under these Conditions that is caused by an Event outside Our control.

An Event outside Our control means any act or event beyond Our reasonable control, including without limitation strikes, lock-outs or other industrial action by third parties, civil commotion, riot, invasion, terrorist attack or threat of terrorist attack, war (whether declared or not) or threat or preparation for war, fire, explosion, storm, flood, earthquake, subsidence, epidemic or other natural disaster, or failure of public or private telecommunications networks.

If an Event outside Our control takes place that affects the performance of these are our obligations:

We will contact you as soon as reasonably possible to notify you; and attempt to reschedule the event on a best endeavours basis. In the case of an event outside of our control we do not guarantee the event will run, and we will not make any refunds. We reserve the right to offer you alternative dates.

In the unfortunate event the train is unable to operate because of government instructions, you will be notified as soon as possible and your trip will be rescheduled for as soon as we are able to run. We reserve the right to alter the experience times to allow us to work with any mandatory or advised guidelines. This may be to allow us to manage social distancing or cleaning requirements. Should the event not being able to be run at all, or the rescheduled date not being suitable, a refund will be offered or a credit against the event for the following year with a gift voucher to the value of 10% of your order for our Polar Express retail shop. Refunds can only be made to the original purchaser of the tickets.

In these circumstances refunds may take up to 90 days to process and booking fees and insurance will not be refunded. If no government restrictions are in place, our event will operate. We will not refund if you chose not to travel due to personal choice. Booking fees and insurance not refundable in any case.

7. Tickets & Seating

Tickets are e-tickets only and will be emailed to you 1 week before your chosen date. You must bring your e-ticket on the day of the event. Failure to do so may result in you missing out on the experience.

There are no spare seats on any of our carriages across any of the days we operate.

Our carriages have seating arranged in 4’s around a table or in 2’s. Due to high demand for tickets, it is likely that you will be sharing your Polar Express trip with another family. Parties of over 4 will be seated as near to each other as possible, priority given to earliest booking. We do not guarantee we can seat orders together if you make a separate booking at a later date. Carriage types and seating layouts vary across the train. We do not guarantee you will be seated in a particular style.

8. Your rights to Refunds, Cancellations and order amendments

Unfortunately due to the popularity of THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride event we are unable to offer any cancellations, refunds, or reschedules therefore please be sure you can attend on the dates/times selected when you book. The train can depart in rain and snow. In the unfortunate event the train is unable to operate, you will be notified as soon as possible and given a complete refund or the opportunity to reschedule.

As the event takes place in winter please plan appropriately for the road conditions, remember this is England and the weather can vary dramatically, however this event is not affected by the weather and will run no matter the weather conditions even in rain and snow. PNP Events and South Devon Railway is not liable for any road closures or delays.

You are only liable for a refund should We fail to to run the event. There will be NO refunds for guests arriving late due to but not limited to, illness, poor weather, travel delays, vehicle breakdowns, public transport, acts of god and anything covered in the Events Outside Our Control. The service charge and ticket protection are not refundable in any case.

There is a £15 fee for any changes to the order (Including but not limited to Name, Address, Date, Time etc)

If you sell your tickets the £15 admin charge needs to be paid by you to change the name and address.

There will be NO changes to any tickets after 30th September.

If you decide to cancel your order for any reason the following charges apply.

Before 31st August – £15 charge

Between 1st September – 30th September – 25% charge

There will be NO changes to any tickets after 30th September.

Tickets cannot be resold, raffled or used for a competition without approval from Us. Any unapproved transactions may result in tickets being cancelled.

9. Our rights to Refunds & Cancellations

We may cancel the contract for the Experience at any time as a result of an Event Outside Our Control, We will either, at Our sole discretion, provide an alternative date for the Experience or, if this is not possible, refund these paid amounts to you.

We may cancel the contract for the Experience at any time by providing you with at least 14 calendar days’ notice in writing. If you have made any payment in advance for the Experience that has not been provided to you, We will either, at Our sole discretion, provide an alternative date for the Experience or, if this is not possible, refund these paid amounts to you.

We may cancel the contract for the Experience at any time with immediate effect by giving you written notice, if you break the contract in any material way and you do not correct or fix the situation within 10 days of Us asking you to do so in writing. If you break the contract, no refund will be payable and We will not be obliged to provide you with an alternative date for the Experience.

10. How we may use your personal information

We will use the personal information you provide to Us to:

provide the Experience
process your payment for the Experience
By entering into this agreement you agree to us using cookies and storing cookies.

11. Passenger Behaviour

We wish to make the Experience as comfortable and enjoyable as possible for all of Our guests. Therefore, We ask that you (and any children under your control):

behave in a reasonable and lawful manner at all times during the Experience;
comply with any reasonable request from a member of Our staff
be considerate when using mobile phones.

You agree that you shall not

be abusive or threatening to any of Our staff or any other person
conduct yourself in a way which may endanger yourself, the carriage or any person or property on board
obstruct any member of Our staff in the performance of their duties or fail to comply with their reasonable instructions
behave in a manner which causes discomfort, inconvenience, damage or injury to other persons
obstruct or allow any of your belongings to obstruct any aisle or emergency exit
play any music players, musical instruments or electronic devices, that are audible and distracting or annoying to any person, or which interfere with, or render less audible, any public address system or other equipment
take on board the carriage, any alcoholic drinks or drugs (other than medicines) for the purpose of consuming during the Experience
bring a dog or any other animal on board the Experience. However, we do allow trained assistance dogs on board the Experience
board the carriage whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs
smoke (including electronic cigarettes) on board the carriage and anywhere on South Devon Railway property

If you fail to comply with the above, We shall be entitled to remove you from the carriage and the event, refuse you further use of the Experience, cancel your ticket without refund, and take any further steps as We may deem necessary in the circumstances. If We consider it necessary we will contact the Police or other relevant security service. We reserve the right to refuse carriage on board the Experience, either on a one-off or permanent basis, to anyone We consider a nuisance or danger to Our passengers or Our staff.

We will use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that other passengers behave appropriately during the Experience however, We will not be liable for any act or omission of any other passenger during the Experience. You are responsible and liable for any passenger under the age of 18 who accompanies you.

12. Luggage

We reserve the right to refuse items to be taken on board the experience and into South Devon Railway property.

Larger items including wheelchairs, pushchairs and car seats cannot be carried onto the train or carriages. They must be left at the station.

All property and belongings are the responsibility of the owner and We accept NO responsibility for loss or damage to personal belongings on board or left at the station.

We shall be entitled to inspect all luggage and property, for the purpose of the security and safety of our staff and our customers.

If we find any luggage we are entitled to open/examine it to ensure it is safe to store. Anything we deem hazardous, dangerous or perishable or otherwise unsuitable for storage shall be disposed of within 48 hours of our receiving or finding of the items.

If you have lost any items please make us aware as soon as possible.

If we find any of your luggage, We will store it, at your risk, at such location as We deem appropriate.

If you have not collected your items within 1 month of our receiving or finding it we may dispose of it as we wish.

13. Media and Marketing

During the event we may take photos or video of you to be used for marketing purposes in print, online, broadcasting and radio. Should you wish not to take part please see a member of staff or contact us. You may request for us to remove your image at anytime and we will comply where is possible.

14. Other Important Conditions

This contract is between you and Us. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of its terms.

Each of the paragraphs of these Conditions operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.

If We fail to insist that you perform any of your obligations under these Conditions, or if We do not enforce Our rights against you, or if We delay in doing so, that will not mean that We have waived Our rights against you and will not mean that you do not have to comply with those obligations. If We do waive a default by you, We will only do so in writing, and that will not mean that We will automatically waive any later default by you.