General
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Our Polar Express Train Ride will depart from the Brechin Station, Park Road, Brechin. DD9 7AF.
What 3 Words: Vows Lifeguard Miracle
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The actual train ride lasts around an hour (approximately 30 minutes in each direction), however, there is some pre-boarding activity so we suggest you allow 2 hours for the whole experience and make sure to turn up with sufficient time to park and get to the train.
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2026 dates as follows:
28 & 29 November.
5 & 6 December.
12 & 13 December.
19 & 20 December.
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November dates: Standard £30.95, Premium £45.95.
December dates: Standard £45.95, Premium £55.95.
Baby on lap, all dates: £3.50.
Note: If seat required a ticket must be purchased.
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Caledonian Railway Brechin Ltd is a registered charity that maintains and operates the heritage railway line between Brechin and Bridge of Dun using our steam and heritage diesel fleet. The railway is run entirely by volunteers and all profits are returned to the railway to support continued maintenance and improvement and our support for the local community.
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Joining instructions, including how to get to us and parking, will be provided prior to the event for all ticket holders.
The Experience
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We have event parking in addition to on-street and local council car parking. Joining instructions will be provided prior to the event with detailed instructions.
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Our services will have a steam locomotive on one end and a heritage diesel locomotive on the other. However, because of the ever-increasing age of our locomotives, and despite our best efforts, sometimes locomotives breakdown and we may have to substitute our booked locomotive for an alternative to ensure the experience goes ahead.
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You do don’t have to wear PJ's, however we encourage visitors to wear them wear possible to get the most out of their experience. Please be aware that although we have heating on the train, make sure to wrap up warmly underneath as it can be very cold outside when you are getting on and off the train. Do not worry if you choose not to wear PJ’s, we will still let you travel to the North Pole!
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Due to the heritage nature of our rolling stock and current legislation we have very limited toilet facilities on our trains. We have full toilet facilities at each station, including baby changing and disabled. The trip in each direction between stations takes approximately 30 minutes.
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Our trains are fully heated the old fashioned way - by using steam from the steam locomotive!
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Joining instructions will be sent to you with further details prior to the event. However, you should aim to arrive a minimum of 15 minutes prior to your scheduled departure time. The trains will depart promptly so please do not be late or you will miss your train!
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Unfortunately, the inside of our trains are too small for pushchairs and buggies. Please either leave these in your car or at the station prior to boarding.
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We are a very dog friendly railway and many of our events allow your four-legged friends. However, due to the distribution of cookies and hot chocolate, we do not allow dogs on the train for this event. We are sorry for any inconvenience this non-dog friendly event may cause.
Tickets
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All tickets are sold online.
Please note that you cannot book tickets via phone or in person.
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Premium
Our Premium seats are located in A & B and are arranged by compartments, which can hold parties of up to 8 people (not including babies). As well as additional comfort, Premium ticket holders also receive a ‘unique for this year’ Souvenir Polar Express™ Ceramic Mug and Bag to take home – these are not available to buy in the shop!
In Premium, groups of up to eight people will usually be seated in one compartment. We will never seat more than one group in one compartment. Groups over eight in Premium will have multiple compartments and you can agree amongst yourselves how you would like to split the groups!
Standard
Standard seats in our open seating coaches and are arranged in fours around tables. If your group has more than four people, you can book seats opposite each other across the aisle. You can select seats to ensure that no member of your party is seated on their own. We will not put members of another party at your table.
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We aim to provide all of our visitors with a high quality and memorable experience on board the Polar Express. Unlike many other Polar Express Train Rides across the country, we do not mix different groups within the same compartment or at the same table. As a result, we have set a minimum order quantity of 2 for Standard Tickets and 4 for Premium Tickets.
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Yes, all visitors must have a ticket. Babies are aged under 2 at the time of the event. All babies have to travel on the knee of an adult as they will not be allocated a designated seat on THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride. Please note that all 'Baby on Lap' do not receive a Golden Ticket, Silver Bells, Hot Chocolate or Cookies.
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Once you have placed your booking online, you will receive an email with your booking confirmation and your e-ticket will be attached as a PDF.
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The 'Baby on Lap' option is not shown on the first page of your eticket. Please see the 'Booking Summary' section on the next page. Please also refer to the contents of your 'Booking Confirmation' email.
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Yes - if there are seats available next to your existing seats, we can add more tickets onto your booking. Please contact us via email. There is no minimum order quantity for adding extra tickets onto an existing booking. A new e-ticket will be issued for the extra tickets. Please include your booking reference.
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Yes, bookings may be amended by the following dates and time:
28 & 29 November: 18 November 5:00pm
5 & 6 December: 25 November 5:00pm.
12 & 13 December: 2 December 5:00pm.
19 & 20 December: 9 December 5:00pm
Subject to availability. Please contact us via email if you would like to amend your booking, quoting booking reference. Subject to availability.
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Compartments have seating for 8 passengers. If your group have more young children that adults there is an option to purchase a non allocated seat ticket when making the booking online..
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Bays have seating for 4 passengers. If your group have more young children that adults there is an option to purchase a non allocated seat ticket when making the booking online.
Cookies and Hot Chocolate Allergy Information
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We want to make sure nobody at our event feels left out. Our standard Cookies and Hot Chocolate contain a number of potential allergens which may include Gluten, Milk, Soya and Eggs. You are more than welcome to bring an alternative drink and cookie with you for any member of your party who has severe allergies if you would prefer. A number of our team are Coeliac, dairy intolerant etc so you can be assured we are aware of your concerns.
With the exception of the actors, everyone involved in delivering the Polar Express experience is a volunteer. In previous years, where we offered specific food and drink choices, we have had some experiences where despite careful preparation and presentation customers have accidentally consumed the wrong product. We are aware of the very serious consequences that this might have for someone with an allergy and consequently we feel that where customers have specific food and drink requirements the safest option for everyone is that those customers bring with them their own choice of food and drink that definitely meet their requirements so that they can safely join in and enjoy the experience along with everyone else.
Unfortunately, therefore we are now unable to offer specific dietary choices and requests for the Hot Chocolate. The Dancing Chefs will have a small range of alternatives to the cookies supplied and will be happy to exchange any unopened cookies on the train for one of the alternatives if you wish at the time of your experience.