WEST Somerset Railway bosses are stepping back in time to hold fares on the heritage line at 2012 prices.

The decision to peg prices for individual travel and groups for the third year in a row into the 2014 season has been taken with a eye on the cash constraints of travelling passengers.

General manager Paul Conibeare said: "We are very much aware of the continued limitations which everyone is experiencing when it comes to funding days out and that although highly enjoyable, a steam train ride is not an essential purchase."

Mr Conibeare said the WSR was not immune to rising costs any more than other sectors of the economy.

But by careful marketing and budgetary controls, the company had been able to exceed budgetary targets in terms of fares revenue this year.

"This is allowing us to absorb the increased costs for another 12 months," he said.

However, although passengers will be paying the same, the WSR is hoping to broaden its appeal with a host of new attractions whilst also ensuring its traditional market is not ignored.

Families are set to benefit from an increase in the number of 'meet and greet' days, with characters ranging from Peppa Pig to Mike the Knight and Wallace and Gromit set to appear.

The 2014 season will also feature the traditional two weekends of 'Day Out with Thomas', while the popular Santa Trains will run at the end of the year.

In a new venture, the medieval recreation team Bowlore will set up an encampment at Stogumber Station at the beginning of July.

In addition, there will be major steam galas in March and October, along with a winter steam festival in December.

Fans of heritage diesel locos dating from the 1960s will be catered for with a mixed traction weekend in June and a late summer weekend at the end of the main school holidays.

Steam enthusiasts will be treated to more than 200 days of steam operation during the year with daily services from May 17 to October 5.

Mr Conibeare said the WSR's commercial team had also been attending group travel fairs during the autumn with a view to further expanding what is a key area of the market.

In another new venture, the company is launching a new 'free to download' app to encourage visitors to the line over the coming year, including an 'augmented reality treasure hunt' involving finding hidden targets at or near the ten stations alone the 20 mile-line from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead.

And the company will once again be offering full days out to include a train trip, with the Hestercombe Gardens Express, Dunster Castle Express and Lynton and Lynmouth Explorer already in the pipeline.