All THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Rides Staffordshire depart from Froghall Station, Froghall, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST10 2HA
The actual train ride lasts around an hour; however, we suggest you allow 1.5 hours for the whole experience.
It runs on the 18,19,20,24,25,26,27,30 November 2022 and 1,2,3,4,7,8,9,10,11,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23 December 2022
Our tickets are priced depending on time and date of travel. Please visit: churnetvalleyrailway.co.uk/polar-express-train-ride/prices
All tickets are sold online via our website. Please visit: churnetvalleyrailway.co.uk/polar-express-train-ride. You cannot book tickets via phone or in person.
Standard Class
All passengers receive a hot chocolate drink, and freshly baked cookie along with the coveted silver sleigh bell – the first gift of Christmas. We will endeavour to seat those booking in parties of 6 or 8 opposite each other but you may be behind each other. If you do not book in groups of 4 (excluding babies on your knee) you may need to share your table with another group.
Premium Class
You receive a hot chocolate drink, and freshly baked cookie along with the coveted silver sleigh bell – the first gift of Christmas. You receive in addition the Limited Edition POLAR EXPRESS™ Souvenir Ceramic Mug. These are designed each year and cannot be purchased online or in the shop. Each booking will also receive a POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride bag to share.
Babies are those children aged 2 and under at the time of the event. If you select any baby tickets, they will not receive a cookie or hot chocolate drink, but they do get a coveted silver sleigh bell – the first gift of Christmas. 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.
You can link bookings together but this must be done at the time of the second booking. We cannot link bookings over the phone or email. It is important you get the correct name and booking reference number before you attempt to link a booking.
Our coaches are from the 1950's – the seating arrangements are fixed by virtue of tables, and aisles as well as internal partitions within our coaches.
We will endeavour to always sit customers around a table or across an aisle. However, there will be instances where bookings will be sat back-to-back.
When you make your booking, please select the relevant allergens. We will do our best to accommodate all allergies, however we cannot guarantee this.
You are more than welcome to bring an alternative drink and cookie with you for any member of your party who have allergies.
Of course...you don’t but we feel that it adds to the story with as many people as possible wear PJs and a dressing gown. Make sure to dress warm underneath and we do have heating on the train. Do not worry if you choose to not wear PJ’s, we will still let you travel to the North Pole.
If you have lost your tickets these will not be resent. Therefore, on the day of the event, you must be able to produce your order confirmation either on your smart phone or print out the order confirmation and bring it with you. (Please arrive in plenty of time to allow our staff to process your boarding of the train).
If you can’t find the order confirmation in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you are still unable to find your confirmation email, please contact us.
There is a £10 fee chargeable should you need to make any changes to your order. This includes, but is not limited to, Name, Address, Date, Time etc.
You will not be able to make any changes to your order after the 30th September 2022.
Due to the popularity of the event, we do not currently operate an online shop. The shop at Froghall station will be fully stocked and is worth a visit after The POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride. It is only available for ticket holders.
To avoid disappointment please order your souvenir books when making the booking. These will be posted to you with your ticket.
We aim to provide a steam locomotive for all our services. However, because of the ever-increasing age of our locomotives, occasionally, despite our best efforts, sometimes our locomotives are not available and we may have to substitute our booked locomotive for an alternative to ensure the experience goes ahead.
We do not have any compartments available on our trains this year.
Our train is fully heated.
You should allow ample time to ensure you arrive at the time printed on your ticket. The trains will depart promptly so please do not be late or you will miss your train.
Event parking is around 6 minutes’ walk away from our station. If you require closer parking due to a disability or health condition, please contact us after you have made your booking quoting your reference number.
If you are in receipt of the higher/enhanced rate of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) benefits, we offer a 50% discount on the carers tickets.
Please contact us at enquiries@churnetvalleyrailway.co.uk with your order number and proof of entitlement so we can arrange a 50% refund of 1 ticket.
You are unable to take pushchairs and car seats on THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride. You will be required to leave them on the platform and our staff will look after them until you return.
With the exception of service dogs, no dogs or animals are allowed on the train. Service dogs will need to sit under the table for the duration of the journey.
Whilst we are a heritage railway, we aim to try and accommodate those with disabilities as best as we can. Do please be aware there are some areas where the surface is uneven.
Yes, we have toilets available for our disabled guests at Froghall Station. Should you wish to use the facilities please ask a member of staff who will be happy to guide you to them.
Unfortunately due to the design of our heritage coaches we are unable to accommodate wheelchairs. If the wheelchair user is able to climb a step, and walk a short distance we can assist in boarding. Wheelchairs will be looked after by our platform staff until you return.
Unless you have gone through the entire booking process and reached the screen which says Payment Successful then we do not have your booking.
This is down to our fraud protection systems.
We have a security setting in our checkout that asks our payment provider Braintree to decline payments where the CVC check fails, or where the post code check fails. If your bank approves a payment where the check has failed, Braintree declines the payment at our end.
In summary, your bank has said the transaction is OK, our payment system said, no it’s not (based upon a set of rules in place to protect us, their customer), so the payment was not taken. You are seeing your banks approval, not a payment. Hence why is it ‘pending’. The pending charge will disappear shortly if it has not already.
The tickets you tried to purchase are not saved for you. You will need to make a new order and a new payment to secure your tickets.
