THE land train between Bournemouth and Boscombe piers will run during the summer school holiday under plans being considered by BCP Council.

Speaking on Monday, the council’s cabinet member for tourism, councillor Mohan Iyengar, said the service would likely only operate during the busiest period of the summer.

He said passenger numbers had been “low” in recent years and said its timetable would be “kept under review”.

The land train has not run since the outbreak of the coronavirus and the introduction of social distancing rules and only operated “for a few days” in 2020.

A message on the council’s website said all its services were closed following government advice on limiting the spread of the virus.

“With the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions and the need to socially distance, we are unable to run either the train or the Land Rover service this winter, without our staff and customers having to come in close contact with each other” it said last year.

But concerns have been raised that its absence makes it difficult for some people to travel across the clifftop, especially with the continued absence of the East Cliff lift which has been out of use since it was damaged in a landslide in 2016.

At the Monday meeting of the council’s scrutiny board, councillor Mohan Iyengar, whose cabinet portfolio includes tourism, was asked for details on the council’s plans for the coming months.

He said the council “would be running the land train” but added the situation was being “kept under review” because of the risk of changing circumstances and government guidance.

“Our current thinking is to run the land train during the school summer holiday period when numbers are [at their] busiest,” he said. “The experience of recent years – and even before the cliff slip – is that passenger numbers are low, partly because of the Yellow Bus service which offers a more comfortable ride for people.”