The Snaefell Mountain Railway has been suspended indefinitely.

Railway bosses say that investigations carried out following the incident that occurred on August 4 have ’highlighted the challenges of operating heritage railway systems in a modern safety management environment’.

The Department of Infrastructure and the Health and Safety at Work Inspectorate (HSWI) have identified a number of improvements as part of a review.

The government says that while the work carried out to date had ’provided much reassurance’, addressing all the issues associated with operating heritage rolling stock had proved ’difficult’.

A spokesman said: ’The department has decided to commit the skills and expertise of its Isle of Man Railways engineering staff to dealing with these matters, rather than to supporting day-to-day operations.

’As a result, all SMR passenger services have been suspended with effect from today.’

He added that the decision had been taken by the department in partnership with the HSWI and reflected the importance of passenger and staff safety.

Manx Electric Railway and Isle of Man Railways services remain unaffected and will continue as timetabled.