THE world’s oldest electric railway made its long-awaited return over the weekend.

Volk’s Electric Railway has been a big miss from Brighton seafront during the coronavirus lockdown.

But, despite some damp conditions, the trains made a triumphant return on Saturday as they ferried the first passengers between stations at the Aquarium Roundabout and Black Rock.

A spokesman for Volk’s Electric Railway said they were “delighted” that it could return, with bosses having followed the latest government guidance to ensure that travellers would be able to make their trips safely.

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He said: “Behind the scenes it’s been a busy time implementing a range of additional health and safety measures to protect our visitors and staff, and we hope these new measures provide our passengers with confidence and eagerness to visit our historic railway.

“Although our famous electric trains will be the same, our trips will be a little different.

“This is to ensure we can safely meet social distancing requirements. So our usual passenger capacity will be reduced and we’ve had to make changes to our hours of operation, timetable and ticketing options.

The Argus:

“In order to safely enjoy our railway we ask that all visitors and passengers follow our new procedures and respect our staff as they help keep everyone on The Volk’s Electric Railway safe.”

Trains will run between 11am and 4pm from Wednesday to Sunday and all passengers will be required to wear a face covering unless exempt.

Customer details will also be taken before riding on the railway.

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While services restarted on Saturday, some elements of the company will have to remain closed to ensure social distancing measures are adhered to. These include the Halfway Station, toilet facilities at the Aquarium Station and the main visitor centre.

Volk’s Electric Railway was the brainchild of inventor Magnus Volk who played a big part in driving Brighton forward technologically, becoming the first person to bring a telephone system to the city and install lights in his house.

He built the railway along the seafront in 1883, making it the oldest operational electric railway in the world.