Gympie Rattler tourist train reveals financial books for 2022-23
More than half of the revenue raised to keep Gympie’s heritage tourist train steaming forward came from government support in 2022-23, new figures show.
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Gympie’s heritage Rattler tourist train received more than $2.8 million in support from ratepayers and taxpayers in its final year of partnership with Gympie Regional Council, new details reveal.
Financial documents for the Rattler Railway Company’s 2022-23 financial year, published online by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, show the council’s support helped the train finish the financial year $2.24 million in the black.
The documents show the RRC reported more than $5 million in revenue for 2022-23.
This was driven primarily by the $2.5 million in government grant support, $1.5 million in sales and train tickets (up from $1.1 million in 2021-22), and $671,814 in cafe and retail sales (down from $951,714).
Another $344,851 was received from the Gympie council for railway sleeper replacement.
This was almost $400,000 more in customer revenue than was recorded in 2021-22.
The cost of keeping the train running rose too.
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The RRC reported spending $582,280 in rail related expenses, which included $355,486 on sleeper restoration and $171,557 on repairs and maintenance.
Rattler general manager Linda Barry said this was caused by the floods which inundated the region in the first half of 2022 which left staff “unable to safely access the track for a number of months”.
“Our track maintenance team have done (and continue to do) an incredible job in keeping our guests, volunteers, employees and anyone who visits us safe,” Ms Barry said.
A $1.8 million staff bill in 2021-22 was cut to $1.5 million in 2022-23.
This was on the back of a $90,000 drop in wage and salary costs, and almost $200,000 less in other, unidentified employee expenses.
Four key management positions at the Rattler received a total of $466,050 for the year.
This total was more than triple the amount paid to an undisclosed number of key management in 2021-22, which was $112,385, a change Ms Barry said was due to the decision to report all members of the senior team, not just the general manager role.
The Rattler Railway Company lists 16 full time staff members, three part-time employees, and 16 casual staff.
The RRC estimates 116 volunteers help support the train.
Outstanding borrowings of $857,431, including $850,000 still owing to the council from a loan, were wiped from the books when the council and the RRC agreed to split in June 2023.
The decoupling ended a controversial partnership which was started when the council agreed to resurrect the heritage train at a final cost of more than $20 million to ratepayers.
“We finished the financial year 2022-23 in a very strong position,” Ms Barry said.
“With the formal separation from Gympie Regional Council... and no ongoing financial agreements, we now have the ability to look for alternative funding opportunities.
“We are very excited to launch our new fundraising strategy in the coming months and have a number of grant opportunities that we are now able to apply for.”
“We bring approximately 2500 visitors to the region every month and this economic benefit can be felt across the region.
“As you can see from these (financial report) numbers, we play a significant leadership role in driving tourism to the greater Gympie region and we continue to work closely with the Gympie Regional Council, the state government, the regional tourism organisation and local tourism operators to ensure we are enticing travellers to visit this beautiful part of Queensland.”
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