THE government wants more competition on the railways. But one new company probably isn’t what ministers had in mind. Rather than boasting bullet trains and speed records, Vintage Trains offers steam engines, impeccable livery and Pullman dining cars.

Dozens of companies operate novelty steam rides in Britain, often on private, dedicated tracks. The Hogwarts Express chuffs Harry Potter fans around western Scotland in a cloud of smoke. But Vintage Trains aims to be the first to operate a full scheduled service on the mainline rail network, operating out of its base in the West Midlands. The company’s first steam express, Clun Castle (number 7029 for the trainspotters), ran out of puff with British Rail in 1966, but has now been magnificently restored and is ready to go.

Vintage Trains is no Thomas the Tank Engine outfit. It raised almost £1m ($1.3m) to secure its passenger operating licence, announced on September 18th, and is now seeking a further £2.2m through a public share offering. It is led by veterans of the rail industry with impressive track records. Cathy Bellamy, its managing director, used to run Chiltern Railways and Hull Trains.

The company has hired one of the dwindling number of steam drivers left to operate the Clun Castle. Through apprenticeship schemes, it wants to build up a new generation of drivers, footplate crew and engineers. Vintage Trains is negotiating its timetables with Network Rail, which manages the railways. The aim is to run the steam engines between the normally scheduled diesel services. The first will probably go between Birmingham and Stratford.

At first, customers will be mainly tourists and steam enthusiasts. But Ms Bellamy hopes to attract regular passengers too. The Clun Castle cannot compete with modern trains in terms of speed: steam engines are restricted to 75mph, whereas diesels can do up to 125mph on inter-city routes. But, she argues, “reliability trumps journey time”. If the service is well run and well priced, she sees no reason it cannot compete.

Besides, with the railways under attack from all quarters, a steam renaissance might bring a bit of romance back to the industry. It might also turn out to be a fitting symbol of post-Brexit Britain.