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Holiday Rail Will Return This Winter: Warner Bros. Allows Polar Express Rides in Cuyahoga Valley

Posted on: Thursday, 15 June 2006, 09:01 CDT

By Jim Carney, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio

Jun. 15--The Polar Express train on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad is back on track for this coming holiday season.

The nonprofit railroad and Warner Bros. Consumer Products announced Wednesday they have reached an agreement that will allow the popular holiday train to run from Nov. 13 to Dec. 19 this year.

Warner Bros. owns the rights to the popular children's book and the movie.

In May, the railroad announced it was discontinuing the train because of a dispute over royalties with Warner Bros.

At the time, the railroad said it would continue to run a holiday-themed train this year but would not base it on the popular book.

Financial details of the agreement were not released.

"We kept talking until we found a deal," said Doug Cooper, president and CEO of the railroad.

Brad Globe, president of Warner Bros. Consumer Products, said in a press release: "the spirit of the Polar Express is rooted in holiday tradition and we are delighted to have worked with the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad to keep this special event on track."

Ticket prices will increase for children this year, Cooper said.

Both adults and children will pay $20 each for tickets. In previous years, children paid $15 for tickets while adults paid $20, Cooper said.

He said money from increased revenues from the bump in ticket prices for children will be used to make improvements to the North Pole scenery at the railroad's Peninsula station.

About 55 to 65 percent of the passengers on the Polar Express are children, Cooper estimated.

He said he could not discuss whether the ticket price increase was related to the settlement with Warner Bros.

When the announcement was made that The Polar Express train was being canceled this year, the railroad received "a heartwarming response" from fans of the special train throughout the region, he said.

"They were very supportive of us," Cooper said.

The Polar Express is based on the 1985 book by Chris Van Allsburg that tells the story of a child's trip to the North Pole where he receives a present from Santa Claus. Houghton Mifflin, the publisher of the book, sold the rights to the book to Warner Bros, which produced the 2004 movie, The Polar Express.

The name of the train was changed last year to the North Pole Express to accommodate Warner Bros.

The railroad has run Polar Express holiday trains for nearly 15 years, Cooper said.

Tickets will be available through a lottery system in August.

For more information, go to the railroad's Web site at www.cvsr.com or call the railroad at 1-800-468-4070.

Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio)

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