North Yorkshire Moors Railway to open through the winter for the first time in its history - with a new train called The Optimist

The railway's usual annual season is from April to October, with some special trains and events during the Christmas period.

However, the impact of the Covid-19 shutdown meant the line was not able to resume running trains until August this year.

Now a new service called The Optimist has been introduced to run the entire 24 miles of the route from Pickering from Whitby between Boxing Day and March 26 - with daily journeys until January 3.

There will be twice-daily weekend trains between Grosmont and Goathland called The Rail Trail during the festive period until January 2. Passengers disembark at Goathland before walking the 3.5 miles back to Grosmont along the original 1836 route of the line, which was later relaid.

Between January 4 and February 28, there will be one Optimist and two Rail Trail services every Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, with daily trains during February half-term week.

From March 1-26, there will be one Optimist and two Rail Trail trains on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

All tickets must be booked in advance as passenger capacity on trains is limited. Contactless payments only are accepted in the cafes and shops, and face masks must be worn on platforms and aboard trains.