The Macclesfield Express

May 26, 2004

HEADLINE: Brassed Off Steve to Get Own Show

BYLINE: By Alexis Price

Wacky Lower Withington entrepreneur Steve Howard is set to star in a programme about his plans to provide a new train service.

The chimney sweep-cum-DJ-cum-builder who also owns a steam train and fire engine is planning to charter a train and undercut Richard Branson’s Virgin company.

He will feature in BBC1’s Brassed Off Britain, which focuses on the things people find most annoying about modern life.

The programme will look at trains and the rail network and follows Howard as he tries to get his plan off the ground.

Originally he planed to hire a 13-carriage train for £20,000 and run it between Manchester and London, charging a lower ticket price than Virgin.

The programme followed him as he tried to achieve this and looked at what motivated him to take the scheme on.

He said: "I was so disgusted with the extortionate fares charged by Virgin that I had to do something – they were a rip off.

"I’ve had more experience than Branson. I’ve been travelling on trains since I was seven."

However, the scheme ran into difficulties and Steve said: "They also joined me to look at my steam trains in Carnforth".

A spokesman for Virgin said: "We will watch the developments with interest."

Steve Howard will appear in Brassed Off Britain on BBC1 on Thursday, May 27^th, at 7pm.

GRAPHIC: Steve Howard with a Virgin Train.